Hope
Blog Post 26 December 2016
If this doesn’t scare us all …
Nothing can.
A Year in the Life of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin
12/12/16 12:40PM — UPDATED 12/12/16
02:16PM
As evidence mounts
that Russian President Vladimir Putin's government intervened in the American
presidential election, allegedly taking deliberate
steps to help elect
Donald Trump, it's easy to forget that this story has unfolded slowly, piece by
piece, over the course of about a year.
With that in mind,
let's take a stroll down memory lane.
September
30, 2015: Trump, the
then-frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, publicly praised
the Russian autocrat while denouncing the American president, declaring,
"I will tell you that, in terms of leadership, [Putin's] getting an 'A'
and our president is not doing so well."
October
15, 2015: After an
international consensus emerged that pro-Russian forces in Ukraine shot down
Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, killing nearly 300 people, Trump stressed
Russia's denial, adding, "No one really knows who did it."
December
17, 2015: At an annual press
conference, Putin sang Trump's praises. Though precise translations vary, by
one account, the Russian president said of the Republican, "He's a really
brilliant and talented person, without any doubt. It's not our job to judge his
qualities, that's a job for American voters, but he's the absolute leader in
the presidential race."
December
18, 2015: Trump appeared on
MSNBC and was asked about Putin's habit of invading countries and killing
critics. "He's running his country, and at least he's a leader,"
Trump replied, "unlike what we have in this country." Reminded that
Putin has been accused of ordering the murder of journalists, Trump replied,
"Well, I think our country does plenty of killing also."
April
20, 2016: Trump elevated Paul
Manafort, a Republican lobbyist with longstanding ties to Putin's government in
Russia, to serve as his campaign chairman.
April
27, 2016: Trump delivered a
speech outlining his foreign-policy vision and vowed to ease
"tensions" between Russia and the United States, and end "this
horrible cycle of hostility." While the GOP candidate talked about all of
the things he expects countries like China and Mexico to do to make a Trump
administration happy, he made no comparable demands of Russia or its leaders.
May
5, 2016: Trump sat down for
an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, who asked if he'd ever spoken directly
to Vladimir Putin. "Yeah, I have no comment on that," Trump replied.
"No comment." Reminded that he rarely shies away from questions, the
presidential candidate added, "Yeah, but I don't want to comment."
July
13, 2016: Delegates to
the Republican National Convention reported that Trump campaign officials
quietly worked behind the scenes to make the party's platform more in line with
Russia's preferences. One GOP congressman was quoted saying soon after that the
"most under-covered story of convention" was Team Trump's efforts to
change the party platform "to be more pro-Putin."
July 20, 2016: The New York Times asked Trump if he'd honor the NATO treaty and defend allied nations if attacked. Trump balked -- saying he'd check first to see if he's satisfied with their contributions to the alliance. "We have many NATO members that aren't paying their bills," he said. (Putin, of course, is a fierce NATO critic.)
July 20, 2016: The New York Times asked Trump if he'd honor the NATO treaty and defend allied nations if attacked. Trump balked -- saying he'd check first to see if he's satisfied with their contributions to the alliance. "We have many NATO members that aren't paying their bills," he said. (Putin, of course, is a fierce NATO critic.)
July
24, 2016: Hillary Clinton's
campaign manager, Robby Mook, told ABC News, "Experts are telling us that
Russian state actors broke into the DNC.... It's troubling that some experts
are now telling us that this was done by the Russians for the purpose of
helping Donald Trump." The same day, a Washington Post report added,
"In the past 24 hours, cyber security experts have said that the email
cache released by WikiLeaks on Friday appears to have been given to the
anti-secrecy group by Russian intelligence."
July
27, 2016: In a move without
precedent in American history, Trump held a press conference in which he
publicly urged Putin's espionage services to help sabotage the Clinton campaign
and put help Trump in the White House.
July
31, 2016: Following a series
of contradictory statements about the nature of his connections with Putin --
at different times, Trump said he "got to know him very well,"
followed by, "I don't know who Putin is" -- the Republican candidate
was asked to clarify. Trump responded, "I had -- no, I -- look. What do
you call a relationship?"
July
31, 2016: In the same
interview, Trump conceded that people on his team may have weakened the
Republican platform to be more in line with Putin's wishes.
September
23, 2016: Yahoo News reported
that Carter Page, a Trump foreign policy adviser, was suspected by U.S.
intelligence officials of having "opened up private communications with
senior Russian officials -- including talks about the possible lifting of
economic sanctions if the Republican nominee becomes president."
September
26, 2016: Despite having been
briefed by intelligence officials on Russia's role in the DNC hack, Trump
declares at a debate, "I don't think anybody knows it was Russia that
broke into the DNC. [Clinton's] saying, 'Russia, Russia, Russia,' but I don't
-- maybe it was. I mean, it could be Russia, but it could also be China. It
could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their
bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK?"
October
9, 2016: During the second
presidential debate, Trump announced that he disagreed with his own running
mate about "provocations by Russia" needing to be met "with
American strength." Trump specifically said, "[Mike Pence] and I
haven't spoken, and I disagree."
October
9, 2016: At the same event,
despite having already speculated about the source of the DNC hack, Trump
declared, "Maybe there is no hacking."
October
17, 2016: Trump complained
that Clinton's rhetoric towards Putin was too "tough," and she
shouldn't be so quick to "insult" the Russian leader. Trump added,
"If I win on Nov. 8, I could see myself meeting with Putin and meeting
with Russia prior to the start of the administration."
October
19, 2016: In the final
presidential debate, Clinton explained that Putin would "rather have a
puppet as president of the United States." Trump responded, "No
puppet. No puppet. You're the puppet. No, you're the puppet."
October
19, 2016: In the same debate,
the moderator asked Trump if he rejects the assessments from U.S. intelligence
officials about Russia's U.S. cyber-attack. The Republican replied, "Yeah,
I doubt it. I doubt it."
October
27, 2016: The same day Trump
complained it's not "smart" for Clinton to speak "badly"
about Putin, the Russian president publicly praised the Republican candidate.
"He represents the interests of the part of the society tired of the
elites that have held power for decades," Putin said.
November
10, 2016: Despite denials from
Trump campaign officials, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said
"there were contacts" between the Russian government and Trump's team
before the U.S. presidential election. Further contradicting the Republican
campaign's claims, Ryabkov added that "quite a few" members of
Trump's team "have been staying in touch with Russian
representatives" ahead of the American election.
November
23, 2016: McClatchy reported
that Trump had spoken directly with Putin after the U.S. election more than
he'd talked to any other foreign leader.
December
3, 2016: Viktor Nazarov, the
governor of Omsk, Russia, declared in a radio interview, "It turns out
that United Russia won the elections in America."
December
4, 2016: Putin again publicly
praised Trump, telling a Russian television station, "Because he achieved
success in business, it suggests that he is a clever man."
December
9, 2016: Confronted with
reports that the CIA believes Russia tried to help elect Trump, Trump's
transition team issued a statement -- which didn't include a denial --
criticizing U.S. intelligence agencies.
December
11, 2016: Trump said he's
considering ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, Putin's closest American ally, to be
his Secretary of State nominee, in part because Tillerson "does massive
deals in Russia."
Expect this timeline
to grow as Trump's presidency gets underway next month
.
