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| Putin: Does this man look happy? (Getty) |
Has something gone sour with the bromance between Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin? It looks like the answer is yes at the moment. Less than a week after being re-elected to a second term -- what some have called the greatest comeback in political history -- Trump informed Putin that he should not escalate the war with Ukraine. Putin did not react warmly to receiving a directive from the U.S. leader, even though Trump likely finished the request with a "pretty please," uttered through chattering teeth. Was Putin chastened in the least? Nope. His response was more or less an abrupt, "Go to Hell." On top of that, Russian state media got down and dirty by playing naughty with nude photos of Trump's wife, Melania So, where does that leave U.S.-Russian relations, which were supposed to be one of Trump's few areas of strength? It's hard to say for sure, but they suddenly seem to have turned frosty. Perhaps Putin, chagrined at the thought of seemingly taking orders from Trump, felt the need to remind Trump who holds the upper hand in this power play. And, by the way, he's not the least bit impressed with Trump's historic achievements of late.
Russian TV seemed to land an egregious low blow by placing nudie photos (from her modeling career) of Melania Trump before the nation's viewers. Here is how the Kyiv Post describes it under the headline "Kremlin Power Games Begin: Exposing Melania Nude Photos on State TV; Russian state-run TV show “congratulates” Trump on election by highlighting once and future First Lady modeling career photos, possibly spelling out the power dynamic of the US-Russia relationship":
Russian TV “congratulated” US President-elect Donald Trump on the election by highlighting once and future First Lady modeling career photos, including nude images – likely with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval, in a possible bid to set the Kremlin’s power dynamic of the Putin-Trump and Moscow-Washington relationships. (See image at the end of this post.)
Russian newscasters celebrated Trump's electoral victory with jokes and jabs about the next first couple on prime-time TV last week. The husband and wife presenter team of Yevgeny Popov and Olga Skabeyeva showed the collage of modeling photos on the nationally broadcast Russian show 60 Minutes, as reported by Newsweek. Melania modeled around the world in the 1990s and early 2000s before marrying Trump in 2005.
“Here is how Melania looked in the year 2000. This is the cover of the magazine GQ.” Many of the photos were from a 2000 GQ photoshoot and show Melania completely nude and in suggestive positions.
“The future first lady lies on top of furs in a negligee. Inside the magazine, Melania’s sexy photos near a private plane and aboard the plane. In one of the shots, the model is wearing only her underwear, lying on a blue carpet with the US seal, as though the editors of the men’s magazine knew something in advance about the future of their model,” the presenters said.
Appearing on a popular TV program sanctioned by the Kremlin, the photos almost certainly had to be approved by Putin for airing before they went live. The show aired after Trump reportedly spoke to Putin on Thursday and warned him not to “escalate” Ukraine.
Sharing Melania’s old photos in the popular show was meant to be an obvious slight to the president-elect that spells out the power dynamic of the US-Russia relationship – or at least how Putin would like it to be.
By publicly shaming Trump’s wife, the Russian leader is demonstrating both that nothing is off-limits and who is in the dominant position. The Russian leader has used misogynistic attacks and rhetoric for decades to demean his enemies and bolster his supporters.
The stunt may also have been meant as a subtle threat that the Kremlin holds other embarrassing or politically damaging material that could threaten the 47th president.
Rumors have circulated for decades that Putin may have held onto some sort of incriminating leverage over Trump from the days he traveled to the Soviet Union and later Russia as a businessman.
Now Putin appears to be using Melania to make Trump understand that Russia has power in many forms, and is not afraid to personally attack the president-elect to achieve its aims. Putin is attempting to set the stage to welcome his ally back into the White House on Russian terms. The president-elect has yet to publicly respond to the “congratulatory” message.
So much for any notion that Trump will earn respect on the international stage. Heck, he's already been dissed by his No. 1 fanboy. How did the Trump-Putin relationship take a wrong turn so quickly? Under the headline "
Less than a week after being elected to a second term, President-elect Donald Trump doesn’t appear to be the international strong-arm he claimed he’d be.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already waltzed right past a pointed warning from the MAGA leader, sending tens of thousands of soldiers to the Ukrainian war front after Trump told him not to escalate the situation.
Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, told NBC News that Russian forces are “trying to dislodge our troops and advance deep into the territory we control” in Kursk, a city in southwestern Russia that borders Ukraine. Ukrainian forces “continue to hold back” a “nearly 50,000-strong enemy group” in the occupied region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in a Telegram post Monday.
Ukraine has warned of a looming counteroffensive in the embattled region for weeks. Among Russia’s allies on the front line include more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers—confirmed by the Pentagon—who are engaging in “combat against Ukrainian militaries,” according to Zelensky.
“There are losses; this is a fact,” he said.
“The importance of this operational area cannot be underestimated given the number of enemy troops concentrated there,” Syrskyi wrote on Telegram. “If it were not for the steadfastness of our soldiers, these tens of thousands of enemies from the best Russian assault units would have stormed our positions.”
Trump had spoken with Putin over the phone on Thursday, reportedly advising the foreign leader not to escalate the war, reminding Putin of America’s military capabilities in Europe, according to The Washington Post.
Russia immediately turned its back on the discussion, claiming that the report was “pure fiction.”
Trump now looks like an impotent tool for making the bold claim during the campaign that, if elected, he could resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 24 hours. Did any of Trump's supporters actually believe that, or did they allow their hero to play them for fools? Is this what Trump meant by "peace through strength"? If so, it landed with a thud, which rhymes with dud. Houghtaling picks up on that theme:
One of Trump’s biggest and boldest campaign promises was that he would immediately end the Russian invasion of Ukraine—though his philosophy on how to achieve that was suspiciously scant of details and, at times, veered toward solutions that would invariably aid Russia.
In June, Trump said he would be open to an increase in U.S. weapons aid to Ukraine so long as it shows up for peace talks with Russia, reported Reuters.
Trump’s advisers envisioned that the peace talks—which Trump promised to facilitate upon winning in November—would also quietly include Ukraine ceding part of the country that is currently occupied by Russian forces. The concept was drawn up by retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg and Fred Fleitz, both former chiefs of staff in Trump’s National Security Council.
Note that Trump's idea for resolving the conflict involved giving Putin exactly what he wants, rewarding Russia for violating international norms by invading and stealing Ukrainian land in the first place.
Ukrainian President Volodymir Zalensky has repeatedly said there will be no peace until Russian troops are expelled from his country and all land is returned. Trump now is trying to back away from any plan that would involve Ukraine ceding land, but he started with an idea that had no chance to succeed. Is this a form of Trump's"negotiating genius"? Houghtaling writes:
Trump’s ardent opposition to NATO—the Western military and trade alliance—has also raised eyebrows, even sparking condemnation from some of his former allies. In February, Trump claimed he told a European leader that he’d allow Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies if they didn’t “pay” their “bills.” And while Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton cast doubt on the incendiary story, he didn’t question the MAGA leader’s desire to nix the strategic alliance.
“Look, I was there when he almost withdrew, and he’s not negotiating,” Bolton said at the time. “His goal here is not to strengthen NATO, it’s to lay the groundwork to get out."
If Trump has his way, it appears, both Ukraine and NATO will be tossed overboard, and Putin will be emboldened to invade Poland, Belarus, Romania, or whatever suits his fancy. Does that sound like the makings of WWIII? Did Americans really go to the polls and vote for this?
If U.S. voters aren't having "buyer's remorse" already, they should be prepared for that to set in soon.
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| Melania nude, as seen on Russia TV (greekreporter.com) |
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