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
By Steve Benen
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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,
cybersecurity 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.
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