Wait, Donald Trump reportedly kept in touch with Putin after his presidency?
Former President Donald Trump’s alleged continued communication with his bestest pal, Russian President Vladimir Putin, after leaving office has created fresh controversy and predictable denials from the Trump camp.
A highly-anticipated upcoming book by veteran journalist Bob Woodward—dropping next week—claims Trump and the Russian autocrat have had at least seven phone calls since 2021, raising new questions about the nature and propriety of their ongoing mutual man-crush.
Woodward’s book War describes a scene at Mar-a-Lago where Trump allegedly ordered an aide out of his office to conduct a private call with Putin. The book also claims that while still in office in 2020, Trump secretly sent Putin rare COVID-19 test machines—which could have helped save lives in the worst of the pandemic—for personal use, with Putin urging Trump to keep the gesture quiet to avoid political backlash.
If these revelations can be verified, they would be highly unusual at best. Former presidents typically step back from conducting foreign affairs, especially with, y’know, dictators from adversarial countries. Such private communications could potentially undermine current U.S. foreign policy and create unnecessary confusion among allies and adversaries alike. In other words, whose side is Trump on?
The Trump campaign has vehemently denied Woodward’s claims. Communications Director Steven Cheung dismissed the book as “made-up stories” from a “demented and deranged man” suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Cheung emphasized that Trump provided no access to Woodward for this book and pointed to Trump’s ongoing lawsuit against the journalist over a previous publication.
However, the alleged contacts raise several concerns. For one, as a private citizen, Trump no longer has access to classified briefings. Any sensitive discussions could compromise U.S. interests. There could be legal jeopardy in potential Logan Act violations, which prohibits private citizens from conducting unauthorized diplomacy with foreign governments.
Trump’s praise for Putin and criticism of U.S. support for Ukraine also contradict official stances and put Biden in something of a quandary. Putin could potentially use details from these conversations to sow further discord or manipulate U.S. politics.
The full extent and content of any post-presidency communications remain unclear. Trump aide Jason Miller told Woodward, who, of course, is famous for his work with Carl Bernstein with the Watergate scandal, that he hadn’t heard of such talks, while Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines gave a carefully hedged response, saying she couldn’t speak to all of Trump’s potential contacts.
Despite the myriad of dangers, Trump appears unwilling (or unable) to distance himself from Putin (and perhaps the other way around.) Their dynamic suggests a symbiotic connection beyond any sort of normal post-presidency behavior, at least what could be historically customary. Whatever the shared ideology, mutual benefit, or psychological need, the Trump-Putin relationship feels more like one of those weird toxic relationships where one narcissist thinks they have the other on a string.
Aside from Trump, Woodward’s book also has Biden in the crosshairs, making comments that would appear to contradict his public support of Israel or at least its problematic head of state. “That son of a bitch, Bibi Netanyahu, he’s a bad. He’s a bad f***in’ guy!” Biden declared privately about the Israeli prime minister to an associate in the spring of 2024 as Israel’s war in Gaza intensified, Woodward says.
“That f****** Putin,” Biden said to advisers shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, according to Woodward. “Putin is evil. We are dealing with the epitome of evil.”
The controversy from Woodward’s reporting highlights the near-unceasing challenges posed by Trump’s unhinged and mostly unchecked approach to diplomacy. Given the presidential polling, though Harris appears to be pulling ahead by simply clearing the low bar in being a functional human, it seems that none of his voters care in the least.
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