Trump’s deference to Putin is about character, not collusion
Lastweek, I wrote that the bestway to think about a Trump Doctrine is as nothing more than Trumpism on the international stage. By Trumpism, I do not mean a coherent ideological program, but a psychological phenomenon, or simply the manifestation of his character.
Monday, we sawPresident Trump on an international stage, inHelsinki, and he seemed hell-bent on proving me right.
During a joint news appearance with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump demonstrated that, when put to the test, he cannot see any issue through a prism other than his grievances and ego.
In a performance that should elicit some resignations from his administration, the president sidedwithRussia over America’s national security community, includingDan Coats, the Trump-appointed director of national intelligence.
Days ago, Coats issued a blistering warning that not only had Russia meddled in our election— undisputed by almost everyone save the president himself— but that it is preparing to do so again. But when asked about Russian interference in Helsinki, Trump replied, ”All I can do is ask the question. My people came to me, Dan Coats came tome and some others. They said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin. He just said it’s not Russia. I will say this. I don’t see any reason why itwould be Russia. I have confidence in both parties.”
Separately, when asked about the frosty relations between the two countries, Trump said, ”I hold both countries responsible. I thinkwe’re all to blame. I do feel thatwe have both made some mistakes.”
Amid these and other appalling statements, Trump made it clear that he can only understand the investigation into Russian interference as an attempt to rob him of credit for his electoral victory, and thus to delegitimize his presidency.
For most people with a grasp of the facts— supporters and critics alike— the question of Russian interference and the question of Russian collusionwith the Trump campaign are separate. Russia did interfere in the election, full stop. Whether therewas collusion is still an open question, even if many Trump supporters have made up their minds about it. Whether Russian interference, or collusion, got Trump over the finish line is ultimately unknowable, though I think it’s very unlikely.
But for Trump these distinctions are meaningless. Even when his own Department of Justice indicts 12 Russian intelligence agents, the salient issue for Trump inHelsinki is that ”they admit these are not people involved in the campaign.” All you need to knowis: We ran a brilliant campaign, and that’s why I’m president.
The great parlor game inWashington (and beyond) is to theorize why Trump is so incapable of speaking ill of Putin and so determined to make apologies for Russia.
Among the self-styled ”resistance,” the answer takes several sometimes overlapping, sometimes contradictory forms. One theory is that the Russians have “kompromat”— that is, embarrassing or incriminating intelligence on Trump. Another is that he is a willing asset of theRussians— “Agent Orange”— withwhom he colluded to win the presidency.
These theories can’t be wholly dismissed, even if some overheated versions getway ahead of the available facts. But their real shortcoming is that they are less plausible than the Aesopian explanation: This is who Trump is. Even if Russia hadn’t meddled in the election at all, Trumpwould still admire Putin because Trump admires men like Putin— which is why he’s praised numerous other dictators and strongmen.
The president’s steadfast commitment to a number of policies— animosity towardNATO, infatuation with protectionism, an Obama-esque obsession with eliminating nuclearweapons, and his determination that a ”good relationship” with Russia should be a policy goal rather than a means to one— may have some ideological underpinning. (These policies all seem to be rooted in intellectual fads of the 1980s.)
But Trump’s stubborn refusal to listen to his own advisers in the matter of the Russia investigation likely stems fromhis inability to admit that his instincts are ever wrong. As always, Trump’s character trumps all.