Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy Has Helped Vladimir Putin For Nothing In Return, Says Michael McFaul
Donald Trump‘s two most recent foreign policy scandals — his pressuring of Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky and the decision to pull U.S. troops from northeastern Syria — have both reportedly provided Russian president Vladimir Putin with a direct benefit, Newsweek reports.
According to Michael McFaul, former ambassador to Russia, the decisions have not just helped Russia, but also undermined the United States’ global standing. McFaul claims that Trump’s Ukraine conduct has harmed Washington-Kiev relations, as well as Ukraine’s international image. As for his Syria withdrawal, it led to the U.S. clashing with NATO, and relinquished the country’s power in the region, leaving a power vacuum for Russia and Iran to fill.
“Trump has personalized, privatized, and deinstitutionalized foreign policy to the detriment of the national interest,” McFaul wrote in an op-ed for Foreign Affairs.
Although McFaul admits that Trump’s foreign policy began very much aligned with Barack Obama’s, as time has gone on, it has raised eyebrows — in particular, when it comes to anything Russia-related.
“The Kremlin may, at long last, be getting what it wants,” McFaul said, adding that Trump’s many mistakes, such as marginalizing the professionals that typically “usually shape and execute U.S. foreign policy,” has ultimately benefitted Russia.
“The result has been a disaster for U.S. national interests and a boon for Russia,” he said.
Spent two days at a conference in UAE where the split screen of Trump’s shambolic withdrawal from Syria and Putin’s state visit here and across the Middle East is searing perceptions of a new balance of power in the world. pic.twitter.com/TS31zmnqBJ
— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) October 15, 2019
As The Inquisitr reported, Trump is reportedly considered trashing the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, described by former Secretary of State George Shultz, former Defense Secretary William Perry, and former Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Sam Nunn as a crucial part of upholding international peace and security in the 21st century.
The treaty allows the U.S. to monitor the activity of Russian troops and military bases, and vice versa. According to CNN columnist David Andelman, Trump’s decision could provide Putin with more opportunity to move Russian troops into Ukraine, away from the scrutiny of the U.S.
Per Raw Story, former Trump friend Donny Deutsch claims that the president’s friendly relationship with Putin is due to failed casinos.
“This is all about failed casinos. He is owned by Putin because he’s been laundering money, Russian money, for the last 20, 30 years. He’s owned by them, that’s what this is,” he said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
Host Joe Scarborough was quick to caution that Deutsch’s claims were just speculation as of now. Regardless, he suggested that “we all will be absolutely fascinated” when we understand why Trump’s foreign policy has benefitted Russia so much.
