On This Day In 2019
What is Trump hiding from us when he meets with Putin?
In just his first 2+ years, Trump chatted with Putin at least 16 times. Of course global leaders should talk. So, what’s the problem?
We don’t really know what they discussed. That’s because Trump went to “extraordinary lengths” to keep many of those conversations secret. Trump banned even his own aides from joining some talks, and at times he refused to let White House photographers snap them together. That's weird.
Most bizarrely, one time when he did permit a translator in the room, Trump ordered her to hand over her notes to him...so that he could rip them up.
The extent of Trump’s actions were reported by The Washington Post OTDI 2019.
Obviously, this is a concern about Trump because Russia worked hard to ensure Trump would win his 2016 campaign. Did Trump promise Putin something in return?
Helping Russia—by ignoring our own Congress and withholding promised assistance to Ukraine—is what got Trump impeached the first time. Was there more? We can’t know.
BTW: In addition to repeatedly calling him a terrific leader, Trump has a long history of sucking up to Putin. Here's a claim which involved both flattery and lies: In a 2015 GOP primary debate, he bragged to the U.S. that he got to share the “green room” with Putin on CBS’s “60 Minutes” show. Turns out, “60 Minutes” doesn’t have a green room, and Trump and Putin had been interviewed separately—one was in New York, the other in Moscow.
@mradamtaylor has the exclusive in The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/10/04/trump-has-spoken-privately-with-putin-least-times-heres-what-we-know-about-conversations/
William Cummings, in the USA Today. has Trump’s reaction: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/13/trump-putin-meetings-interpreter-notes/2565471002/
@chrismassie in Buzzfeed News dishes on Trump’s claimed “green room” meeting with Putin: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/christophermassie/tick-tick-tick-tick
from us when he meets with Putin?