Craig Unger, an American journalist and writer who has written two books on Trump’s connections to Russia’s security services and the Russian mafia stretching all the way back to the 1980s, says he is “absolutely certain” that the U.S. president is a Russian asset.
According to Unger, Trump’s current actions are benefiting Russian President Vladimir Putin, and destroying relationships with long-time allies.
The Kyiv Independent sat down with Unger to hear what makes him so certain.
I am a little out of the loop, but can someone explain what Putin or Russia can offer to Trump that he doesn’t already have? He is the president of the strongest country in the world, what more access could he want?
Putin owns him financially and via kompromat. It was in the news last year that Trump personally owed Russia several billion dollars.
Then there’s the fairly obvious conclusion that the Kremlin has proof of what Trump was up to on Epstein’s island (or worse) that they’re using to keep him in line.
Trump is president in name only, the power of the office is wielded by his owner.
they have embarrassing video of him he doesn’t want released is the going theory
As a thin-skinned narcissist, Trump is emotionally dependent on admiration. He looks at authoritarians like Putin, Xi, and Kim, and he desperately wants what they have. How better to meet the need for admiration than to be a dictator that people must love and praise or else face the consequences?
By appeasing and palling around with these brutal authoritarians, he thinks they’ll help him become one of them.
Putin is personally immensely wealthy and, additionally he effectively controls the economy of Russia. Trump is neither - his personal assets are dwarfed by half a dozen Americans alone. Plus as @[email protected] says, he likes the attention and it doesn’t take much to stroke his ego.