The left-wing media cabal is still trying to convince the world that President Trump works for Russia. It’s been a ridiculous notion all along, and that point really hits home when you consider their evidence. The strongest card in their hand is that Trump didn’t openly condemn Putin in a face-to-face press conference. That’s all they have.
Trump’s defenders have been saying all along that he has been tougher on Russia than Obama was, but that’s a low bar. In a more real sense, how tough has Trump been? How tough has he claimed to be? Let’s dissect this issue. If you look closely enough at the topic from every angle, there really is no room for doubt.
Trump’s Claims
Let’s be real for a moment. Trump’s speech style is a little different from most politicians. It’s a big part of his appeal. It also makes it difficult to pin down the specifics of what he is saying at times. When it comes to Russia, he’s been all over the place. It’s how he deals with despotic rulers. He alternates between praise and criticism, and from an outsider’s perspective, it seems to work pretty well.
But, the nature of Trump’s talking style means that he hasn’t consistently claimed to have been super tough on Russia. If you average what he’s said, his own point of view is that he has been tough but fair. He would probably rank himself in the middle of all presidents on toughness. He won’t let them cross a line, but he still wants a productive relationship. What we’re going to see is that even Trump underrates his toughness on the topic.
Sanctions
We’re not here for hyperbole. Obama got a lot of things wrong with Russia. That doesn’t change the fact that he installed a large number of sanctions against Putin’s inner circle. Of course, that was only necessary because he was the one who lifted sanctions during his infamous reset. It also seemed like an extremely muted response to Russia invading and annexing a sovereign country. But, he did institute sanctions.
Since Trump took office, exactly zero sanctions have been lifted. If you remember, all of Trump’s detractors claimed that he would immediately ease sanctions because he’s a puppet for the Kremlin. That has yet to happen. In fact, Trump has only added to the list of sanctions.
And, rather than just target Putin’s friends, Trump has sanctioned major corporate entities within Russia. He’s also paired that with economic actions that add pressure. He has increased American energy exports, decreased imports from Russia and worked to reduce European imports of Russian energy. Germany’s Merkel has largely undermined those efforts, but that’s a talk for another time.
In a simple recap, Trump has been objectively harder on Russia than Obama was in terms of sanctions and economic policy. There is no debate here.
Russians in America
Here’s a second major issue. We’ve all reasonably assumed that Russia has maintained a spy network in our country since at least the end of WWII. Some spies have been caught. Many probably haven’t.
What we do know is that Obama expended minimal effort in tracking and managing this spy network. Even at the height of the Crimea conflict, Obama made no effort to curtail Russian spying. It was that lackadaisical approach that enabled Russian agents to attempt to influence the 2016 election. Let’s all remember that such meddling happened under Obama’s watch and not Trump’s.
Conversely, Trump has expelled dozens of Russian agents. When they attacked London with a nerve agent, Trump responded swiftly. An entire Russian consulate was closed, and roughly 60 agents were expelled from the country. Since then, another two dozen have been expelled or arrested. The raw numbers dwarf the previous administration. Trump has clearly been tougher on Russian spy networks than Obama was.
International Conflict
Above all else, this is where Trump has been the toughest. Russia literally invaded its neighbors, and Obama responded with “don’t do that.” He then flatly refused to help other bordering nations defend themselves from the threat. Russian military crossed pretty deeply into Ukraine. Obama did nothing and refused to help. He also fully respected Russia’s defense of Assad and the genocidal Syrian regime.
Trump has completely departed from all of this. He wasted no time in helping Ukraine acquire missile defenses against Russia. Every time Assad crossed Trump’s red line, Trump responded with force despite Putin’s strong words of condemnation. There has been no retaliation.
And, who can forget the conflict in Syria earlier this year? Trump gave our military free reign to defend their positions in Syria, and the result was a short, decisive route of Russian forces that engaged our troops. This was a direct engagement between America and Russia. America won and Russia did nothing to retaliate. If that doesn’t herald a strong stance, I don’t know what can.
These are just the highlights of Trump’s decisions regarding Russia. He has acknowledged the superpower for what it is. He has never underestimated them, and he has approached them with healthy caution.
What he hasn’t done is bow to their whims and allow them to continue to expand their influence unchecked. His actions have been the exact opposite of his predecessor, and the results speak for themselves. Russia is more willing to negotiate with Trump’s America because they know they can’t impose their will through force.
Anyone who can look at this list and still insist that Trump is an agent of Russia is either a bold-faced liar or mentally incompetent. In all things Trump, it is important to delineate between the rhetoric and the actual decision making. He warned us about that when he explained the art of the deal on the campaign trail. He will deliberately use his words to keep negotiating opponents off balance.
When you judge the man by his actions, there is no doubt. He is a strong leader and doing right by our country. It’s a refreshing change.
