'It is tremendous': Kremlin insiders explain how Trump is already helping advance Putin’s goals

31 December 2024

During the 2024 presidential race, many supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris — from lifelong Democrats to right-wing Never Trump conservatives — argued that Ukraine would be much better off if she won, as Donald Trump has been highly critical of the Biden Administration's aggressive support for military aid to that country.

President-elect Trump, however, defeated Democratic nominee Harris. And his pick for national intelligence director, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (an ex-Democratic turned MAGA Republican), has been an outspoken defender of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Gabbard's comments, critics say, have been so pro-Kremlin that state-operated Russian media outlets have dubbed her "Russia's girlfriend."

The Daily Beast's Julia Davis, in an article published on 2024's penultimate day, lays out some reasons why the Kremlin is glad to see Trump returning to the White House.

Trump and the MAGA movement have often been described as "isolationists." Yet Trump's recent post-election comments about Greenland and the Panama Canal have had a more expansionist or imperialist quality — which, according to Davis, "delights" the Kremlin.

"President-elect Donald Trump's social media posts about annexing Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal startled America's allies and delighted foreign foes," Davis reports. "In Russia, the statements were interpreted to mean that Trump isn't really opposed to foreign wars of conquest after all. To them, Trump's tirades revealed that — just like Russian President Vladimir Putin — Trump would be delighted to invade any country that couldn't fight back."

Davis adds, "He would expect accolades and a lavish victory parade after seizing foreign territories, just like the fallout from Russia stealing Crimea in 2014. Trump infamously described the annexation of Crimea as a 'genius' and 'savvy' move."

The Daily Beast reporter notes that in pro-Kremlin Russian media outlets, Trump's "stated intentions towards Greenland, Canada, and Panama" are "being celebrated as implicit validation for Russia's current and future land grabs."

On the Russian program "Vesti Nedeli" ("The Weekly News"), for example, host Dmitry Kiselyov argued, "Trump isn't joking. He is determined to expand American territorial possessions…. If Trump gets away with all of this, inspired by his success, he might look at the rest of the globe, focus on vulnerable spots, and keep going. Where will he stop? Doesn't it mean that others can do the same?"

On Russia's "The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov," host Solovyov said of Trump, "No, he is not joking.... of course he isn't joking. Do you think I’m kidding when I say that Finland, Warsaw, the Baltics, Moldova, and Tallinn should come back home? Do you think I’m joking? No! They should all rejoin the Russian Empire, followed by Alaska, by the way. Give it back…. The way he is rationalizing, it is tremendous. We should follow his example and quietly take everything back."

Read Julia Davis' full Daily Beast article at this link (subscription required).

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