When it comes to Russia, Donald Trump has made an ugly bed for himself. Now Democrats are going to try to force him to take a nap.
Regarding the nation Mitt Romney accurately described as America’s “number one geopolitical foe,” Trump has displayed conspicuous deference bordering on fealty. Donald Trump has had every opportunity to contend that he would serve as a competent steward of American national interests even if they conflict with Russian grand strategy, as they so often do. He has declined every chance.
Trump has defended Vladimir Putin, who has presided over the conspicuous murder of journalists and opposition figures, contending that the United States government has as much or more blood on its hands. Trump has defended the methods to which Russia has appealed to secure its geopolitical objectives—namely, military invasion and annexation of sovereign territory, a first of its kind since World War II. His former campaign chairman lobbied for pro-Russian autocrats and helped water down the GOP’s support for embattled Ukraine. He has disparaged the NATO alliance, which is perhaps the most successful and benevolent entente in history. He has even entertained the notion of ignoring the alliance’s mutual defense provisions if one of its members were attacked by Russia.
In Trump, Vladimir Putin couldn’t have a more willing partner to aid him in reconstituting Russia’s Soviet-era sphere of influence if he built him in a lab. And all for the low, low price of a compliment or two.
Russia’s brazen intervention in the American electoral process may have provided his opponents with an opportunity to transform an abstract, geopolitical issue into a more tangible matter for voters. In June, a Russian-linked cyber intelligence outfit infiltrated Hillary Clinton’s campaign and a variety of private Democratic Party committees. The hackers were focused on intercepting information about Democratic donors, the party’s swing state strategy, and the information they had on Trump. Soon, that data pilfered in that operation began appearing in public after being laundered through Kremlin-tied intelligence clearinghouse WikiLeaks.
The FBI has informed lawmakers that they have high confidence that the Russian government is behind the operation to expose Democratic strategy and tactics. In September, the allegedly Romanian hacker Guccifer 2.0, a persona U.S. officials have said is almost certainly a construct of Russian military intelligence, began dumping information related to Democratic strategy in states like Ohio, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Illinois. Cui bono?
Democrats are doing their best to cement the suspicion that Russia is meddling in the American political process into an undeniable fact. Last week, Senator Dianne Feinstein and Representative Adam Schiff—respectively, the Senate and House Intelligence Committees’ ranking members–released a sobering statement. “[W]e have concluded,” they wrote, “that the Russian intelligence agencies are making a serious and concerted effort to influence the U.S. election.” They claimed that these operations are designed explicitly to influence the outcome of the presidential race and are the product of orders from the highest levels of the Russian government. Clinton’s campaign manager, Robby Mook, went further: “This was done by the Russians for the purpose of helping Donald Trump,” he told ABC News.
The extent of the Kremlin’s efforts to intervene in the American presidential process on behalf of their candidate is as unprecedented as it is audacious. But there was no real way to tie Trump to Russia’s efforts, even if he benefits most from them. At least, there wasn’t until Friday. A bombshell report by Yahoo! News investigative reporter Michael Isikoff revealed that one of Trump’s foreign policy advisors, Carter Page, has traveled to Moscow where he met with ranking officials under U.S. sanction to discuss lifting those sanctions in a Trump administration. Carter is also believed to have met with Igor Diveykin; a former Russian security official who U.S. authorities believe is currently responsible for the intelligence that Russian agents gather on the American presidential election.
Trump has personally praised Page by name and has included him on a list of policy advisors, although his role in the Trump operation is ambiguous. Page has confounded American policy observers by delivering speeches sharply critical of American foreign policy before Russian audiences in Moscow. Page also maintains extensive financial interests inside Russia. So, too, does Donald Trump. The Trump family’s history of courting the Russian government to gain entry into the Russian real estate market is extensive, well documented, and has not gone dormant just because Trump is seeking the American presidency.
Democrats are facing an uphill battle in the effort to get Americans to care about foreign policy even in a domestic context. But Vladimir Putin is not popular with Americans. In fact, he is despised. Trump has played a risky game by getting into bed with such a character, and the Russian government’s intervention in the election will heighten the already widespread impression that the Russian autocrat is a bad actor. Democrats have only just begun to bang on this drum. The revelations linking Trump to an aggressive foreign power will continue. It’s a safe bet that the worst of it is yet to come.
