One of the more interesting relationships of Donald Trump’s that has polarized the media has been his “friendliness” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump has called Putin a great president for his people, as well as complimenting him in other areas, which has sent the left into a tizzy, but this is Trump showing respect to keep the diplomatic channels open.
Trump tried to cash in those chips to settle Russia’s war with Ukraine, but Putin has yet to back off his stance, and now Trump has apparently had enough.
Earlier this week, it seemed as though Trump and Putin were going to meet in person to discuss the peace deal, putting the final points together to end this draining war.
Putin aide Yuri Ushakov announced that "at the suggestion of the American side, an agreement was agreed upon in principle to hold a bilateral meeting at the highest level in the coming days, that is, a meeting of Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded, “As President Trump said yesterday, the Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to this meeting.”
She continued, “President Trump would like to meet with both President Putin and President Zelensky because he wants this brutal war to end. The White House is working through the details of these potential meetings and details will be provided at the appropriate time.”
While these discussions were taking place, Trump told the media that he had moved nuclear submarines into position due to comments from former Russian President Medvedev.
Military experts pushed back on the narrative that Trump was revealing military secrets and putting the subs at risk, as the Russians surely know we have subs off their coast at all times, “just in case” they are needed.
Besides, today’s submarines are virtually undetectable, so Trump’s reveal likely did little to give away their positioning.
This was, once again, Trump mimicking former President Ronald Reagan, showing strength via power, just letting the Russians know that if they decide to get cute, he will take action.
Trump has generally held his tongue about Putin because he knows the two presidents need to have a good relationship for situations exactly like this, but that changed this week as Trump publicly dissed Putin.
He stated, "We get a lot of bulls--- thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless."
The recent drone attacks by Russia seem to have hit home with Trump, especially because they rattled several NATO allies. John Hardie, Russia program deputy director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, explained, "Really, since then, I think Trump has come to view the Russians as the main impediment to a deal.” He later added, "What he's sort of latched on to are these Russian drone and missile barrages. That really seems to resonate with him."
This is really a big win for Trump, albeit it a subtle one in terms of how the media is treating it. Democrats and many mainstream media outlets have always portrayed Trump as a sort of puppet for Putin, but this public rebuke contradicts that narrative. Now it is up to Trump to hold Putin’s feet to the fire to demand a peace deal or drop the hammer in terms of economic sanctions. Trump has the bully pulpit, and it is time to use it.
