General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy? Why is Trump doing this?

...this, coupled with Trump's Iran war which has dramatically increased the value of that oil, generating windfall profits for Russia.
Michael knows the answer.
Russia is Irans closest ally in the world. So why does Trump keep treating Putin like a friend? I dont get it, McFaul wrote.

April 18, 2026
Trump letting Putin 'play him for a fool,' US lawmakers say after new Russia sanctions waiver
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-letting-putin-play-him-102752552.html
April 13, 2026
Top Senate Democrats demand Trump administration reinstate Russian oil sanctions
https://kutv.com/news/nation-world/top-senate-democrats-chuck-schumer-elizabeth-warren-jeanne-shaheen-urge-trump-administration-treasury-to-reinstate-russian-oil-sanctions
Jim__
(15,245 posts)RockRaven
(19,555 posts)He. Is. A. Traitor.
ColoringFool
(815 posts)HE IS OWNED, LITERALLY, BY THE RUSSIAN OLIGARCHS, BILLIONS IN DEBT and BILLIONS IN BLACKMAIL.
HE HAS BEEN RE-PAYING THAT DOUBLE DEBT WITH THIS LATEST DEAL; HANDING OVER US TOP SECRET DOCUMENTS; BEING ANTI-NATO; RUINING THE US ECONOMY; REDUCING OUR WEAPONS STOCKPILE; CORRUPTING PUBLIC EDUCATION;
AND, WELL, EVERYTHING ELSE.
Botany
(77,551 posts)
America. Victor Orban got some of the money to fund CPAC from Russia and Hungrys new
Prime Minister said Orban was using Hungarian funds to support CPAC too.
Turns out the Hungarian government has been bankrolling the Conservative Political Action Conference for years.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/hungary-leader-reveals-victor-orb-151540991.html
So it appears that CPAC was funded by a foreign government that was working closely with Vladimir Putin. In a speech today, Magyar told reporters that the outgoing foreign minister, who has been accused of working closely with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, was shredding confidential documents.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-13-2026
Btw since the story came out that Hungry and Orbán were funding CPAC our media hasnt touched
that story.
Joinfortmill
(21,361 posts)llmart
(17,658 posts)HILLARY WARNED US!
Joinfortmill
(21,361 posts)Irish_Dem
(81,861 posts)We work for Putin.
BlueTsunami2018
(5,016 posts)Thats all any of this is about. Skimming, scamming, manipulating the market, enriching himself and his oligarch buddies.
Its not hard to pinpoint his motives.
GiqueCee
(4,462 posts)... his fear of flying... out a window. The Russians had him by the short curlies even before Putin got his claws in him. And the phrase, "Useful Idiot" has never been more appropriate. Trump has a certain simian cleverness when it comes to lying and cheating, but in terms of practical intelligence, he's dumber than a bag of hammers, and so easy to manipulate that it would be hilarious if it wasn't so sad. And horrifically dangerous.
So, yeah, he's a traitor. But what's even worse is the number of people that know he's a traitor, but refuse to do anything about it, because they are playing him like a cheap fiddle, too. How 'bout a round of applause for the American oligarchs! They knew exactly what tune he'd dance to: "We're in the money!"
SamKnause
(14,925 posts)Last edited Sat Apr 18, 2026, 07:42 PM - Edit history (1)
Because Trump is pro Russia and anti-United States.
His actions have proven this time and time again.
Norrrm
(5,261 posts)
evolves
(5,858 posts)Hes a child trying to please the daddy who bailed him out.
Norrrm
(5,261 posts)Trump/Putin body language at their summit/job performance review.
Shoulders slumped, grim/defeated expression on his face. There should be no doubt which one is the master, and which one is subservient/submissive.
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2MuchNoise
(790 posts)And trump's wallet.
MustLoveBeagles
(16,820 posts)Puppyjive
(999 posts)Using it as blackmail.
MustLoveBeagles
(16,820 posts)RainCaster
(13,773 posts)Putin has his own version of those files and so he's made TSF his bitch.
spanone
(141,836 posts)IronLionZion
(51,422 posts)
mahina
(20,684 posts)Why he would put us into a stupid unnecessary war, why would he defund all of the USAID work for peace in the world and the general well-being, why would he stop testing for antibiotic- resistant gonorrhea, why would he decund public education, why would he defund Medicare and/funny for Medicaid, why would she make a life harder for everyone but the billionaires, why would he give the billionaies giant tax cuts and make us carry that staggering burden on our backs, why would he have his thugs go in and savage and loot the spark Matsunaga Peace Institut, why would he hand over our citizens, Social Security numbers and private information and put us all at risk financially to hackers around the world, why would he eliminate funding for meals on wheels and preschool for our children, why would he hurt the farmers that feed us, why would she sell out to the fossil fuel companies at the expensive the whole fucking planet and our futures why else? Hes trying to kill us. Who wants us broke, stupid, and divided against each other, preferably, super angry at others: all Kabuki aside, he works for Putin. In my opinion. Some would say this is speculation. I think weve got a pretty solid mountain of evidence that it is not.
ChicagoTeamster
(1,074 posts)at the Grand Ole Opry and a lot of them still wouldn't believe it.
flvegan
(66,374 posts)And probably a bunch of money.
Joinfortmill
(21,361 posts)JoseBalow
(9,591 posts)with compromising photos of drumpf.
City Lights
(25,919 posts)He is a Russian agent.
lastlib
(28,399 posts)Answer to all questions as to WHY. Period.
Bayard
(29,950 posts)I've always thought there was something nefarious going on there. Scheming and plotting.
kentuck
(115,461 posts)He was trying to help Putin finance his war in Ukraine.
wiggs
(8,835 posts)Another Jackalope
(209 posts)IMO, the war is being waged deliberately, to raise the price of oil. Now thanks to the lifting of sanctions Russia has access to the world's oil markets again to sell their oil at a higher price. Cui bono?
The subornment of Trump by whatever techniques possible is simply a means to this end: start the war, then lift the sanctions. All else is window dressing, both to make the outcome unavoidable and to disguise the true motives.
It appears (to me at least) to be a simple case of "follow the money."
pat_k
(13,491 posts)... and rejected him.
Sure, he's being played, but he is easy to play because to him, this, like everything else, is driven by his psychopathic/narcissistic need to exact vengeance for the most basic wounds his eggshell ego has suffered.
However much money he amassed, however often he managed insinuate himself into the the upper circles of Northeast Megalopolis society (from Boston to DC with NYC at it's center) he was always viewed with contempt as the vulgar, ill-mannered, grasping troll that he is. Even at the highest levels of society, that corridor is a melting pot that values pluralism and is a curious blend of progressive social values, internationalism, and high-stakes economic competition.
And he was desperate to be embraced in that world.
And he never was.
He was humiliated and rejected.
He may have convinced himself he was a player, but he knew the truth. He was an object of contempt.
His most beloved symbols of success were mocked as tacky and gouache. The attitude toward him in upper circles was reflected in the media. Newsweek highlighted his fall (Trump: The Fall). Quotes like "You live by the glitz, you die by the glitz," from people he claimed as "friends" capture how he was viewed. Vanity Fair described his "moral larceny" and reputation for slinging bullshit.
And so, he gets his vengeance by destroying the institutions embraced by those that rejected him. He seeks to destroy and corrupt executive agencies that advance the rule-of-law and progressive social values. He advances the interests of the illiberal autocratic forces that are hellbent on destroying the rules-based international order forged more than 75 years ago. He rejects the transatlantic alliances that are held dear, not just by "the elite," but by all of us who believe in the idea of "The Good Will of the American People" as a powerful force committed to advancing human rights, human dignity, and self-determination across this planet.