Q: What about Helsinki?
A: This proves media bias, more than Trump bias. Look, every President meets with the Russia. Virtually all Politicians say nice things about powerful leaders, and try to butter them up, and get some things from them, so they can play great statesman. Trump is no different than all of his predecessors in this regard, if anything, he sucked up LESS. Part of it is truth, part of it is that in order to persuade the other side, they have to make them feel at ease. Remember basic history:
- Bill Clinton met Putin, and when Putin suggested Russia joining NATO, Bill said he had, "no objection." And after first meeting Putin said, "I think he is fully capable of building a prosperous, strong Russia, while preserving freedom and pluralism and the rule of law.”
- When Bush first met Putin, he was asked if he trusted Putin, and he said "Yes". When pressed, "Why?", Bush replied that he "looked into his eyes, and said he saw his soul". Later, after the invasion of Georgia, Bush called him "cold blooded".
- Obama/Hillary wanted to restore relations after that, and created a mock "Reset Button", and in their normal fashion, fucked it up, and it was mistranslated and actually said, "Overcharged". And the Obama admin gave Russia all sorts of concessions like not putting in anti-missile system in Poland, without getting anything in return. Then Trump attacked Mitt Romney, for saying Russia was our biggest threat, and said Romney was "stuck in a Cold War mind warp". Then Obama got caught on hot-mic admitting to Russian President Medvedev that he'd have flexibility to do more for Russia after Obama's last election. Russia invaded Urkaine soon after that.
If you aren't reminded of this, every time they're talking about Trump and Putin, that's because the media is intentionally trying to miseducate you, and convert Trump into something nefarious, for the most benign of behaviors. He did nothing unusually fawning or apologetic, and has been harder on Russia than Obama Admin ever was.
References
- https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-putin-says-discussed-joining-nato-with-clinton/28526757.html
- https://www.businessinsider.com/george-bush-putin-fishing-painting-trump-meeting-2017-7
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx49KA_IW-Y
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-07-06/as-trump-meets-putin-here-s-how-obama-bush-and-clinton-fared
- http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/356323-bill-clinton-sought-states-permission-to-meet-with-russian-nuclear
- https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hillary-bill-clinton-russia-sanctions-speech/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_missile_defense_complex_in_Poland
- https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/sep/07/barack-obama/obama-says-romney-called-russia-our-no-1-enemy/
- Schumer on Russia:
Written