Steampipe wrote on Feb 28
th, 2022 at 2:34pm:
MeisterEckhart wrote on Feb 28
th, 2022 at 2:24pm:
It was possible Trump could have won a second term (until a few days after the election) and there's every reason to believe that Trump's obsession with Putin would lead to him not sanctioning against an invasion of Ukraine.
In Trump first term as president he introduced multiple sanctions against Russia starting on AUG 2 2017 and the last on DEC 5 2019, evidence and facts suggests he would have introduced more sanctions.
In 2017 Trump begrudgingly signed the sanctions legislation against Russia not because he approved of them but because it passed by veto-proof margins. He then criticised congress for it. When Putin responded by expelling 755 people from the American embassy and consulate staff, Trump responded by “thanking” Putin and saying he “greatly appreciated” the striking diplomatic move.
In 2018 when Putin won a sham election, White House officials asked Trump not to congratulate Putin. he ignored them and congratulated him anyway.
A few months later, Trump appeared alongside Putin in Helsinki, lashed out at US officials and announced that he considered Putin more reliable than his own country’s intelligence agencies.
At the end of 2018, Trump lifted Russian sanctions.
In 2019 a Russian-based cybercriminal organization called “Evil Corp” (not Putin or his government) was sanctioned for using malware to steal more than $100 million from banks and financial institutions.
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