No Trump card
Even without the widening scandal over election interference, President Trump would have had a hard time managing America’s relations with Russia, which are as tense as at any time since the end of the Cold War.
The complex differences between the two countries will not be easily resolved. Moreover, President Vladimir Putin has shown a ruthless commitment to self-preservation that relies heavily on returning Russia to a mythical place of power and glory, not in helping the West build a more stable world.
Mr Trump is making sound policy making even harder, though, with his admiration of Mr Putin and his willingness to surrender the country’s international leadership, which was on display during the Group of 20 meeting in Germany. Mr Trump is noticeably more comfortable with Mr Putin than he is with most of America’s democratic allies, despite Mr Putin’s record of crushing domestic opponents, invading Ukraine and bombing civilians in Syria.
There is nothing wrong with Mr Trump’s ambition to improve relations with Moscow, given Russia’s importance as a nuclear weapons superpower with a United Nations Security Council veto. But that does not mean it is wise to underestimate, as Mr Trump seems to do, the threat posed by Mr Putin’s efforts to weaken Nato and the trans-Atlantic alliance, subvert democratic procedures and institutions in Europe and America, wage cyberwarfare, destabilise Ukraine and secure influence in Syria. Some Trump administration officials recognise those hazards; Mr Trump does not.
One example is the mixed signals he is sending about maintaining sanctions on Russia. On Air Force One to Paris on Wednesday, he told reporters, “I would not and have never even thought about taking them off.”
Yet in the next breath, he confirmed that he discussed the issue briefly with Mr Putin and left open the door to easing sanctions as part of a deal over Ukraine or Syria.
There are some hopeful signs, including a limited cease-fire in southwestern Syria. But on a wide range of issues, Mr Putin seems unwilling to co-operate, and Mr Trump doesn’t much seem to care.