There have long been whisperings about Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, with some commentators going so far as to call him an actual Russian asset. These are allegations he’s never quite been able to shake, but it was always possible to dismiss them because of the sheer absurdity of the idea that a sitting U.S. president or former U.S. president could be a Russian asset.
Unfortunately for the entire world, Trump’s actions and words in recent days and weeks have done absolutely nothing to dispel the rumors and are, instead, adding fuel to the fire. Rumors were recently bolstered by a Facebook post by Alnur Mussaev, an ex-KGB officer, insisting that Trump had been recruited in 1987 as a KGB asset code-named “Krasnov.” This particular narrative has been countered in the press by former U.K. spy chief Sir David Omand, whose opinion is that it’s “non-credible.” Still, Trump’s actions and words lend credence to the idea that he has been somehow compromised by Russia, as he hurls insults at allied countries and stops vital aid for Ukraine.
A senior U.K. Conservative MP and former Foreign Office minister, Graham Stuart, has floated the idea that the situation has reached a point where it’s time to seriously consider whether Donald Trump is an actual, active Russian asset, as reported on Politics.co.uk . Stuart posted a statement to the social media platform X, which is owned by close Trump ally and member of his cabinet Elon Musk.
The description of Trump’s potential status as an asset as “the crowning achievement of Putin’s FSB career” makes for a difficult read. For Russia to have infiltrated the highest echelons of the U.S. government would mean a literal coup, a truly unimaginable scenario that could cause unprecedented damage across the world. It should be literally unthinkable.
Yet Donald Trump has called President Zelenskyy a “dictator,” he has paused vital aid to Ukraine, he has suggested that he will pull out of NATO, and that Ukraine should consider an unconditional cease-fire. These actions and words are literally out of the Russian foreign policy playbook, opinions and statements which would be perfectly at home on any piece of Russian state media — which makes it all the more shocking that they’re being said by a U.S. president.
Whether or not Trump is an actual Russian asset, he is behaving exactly as you would expect one to behave. His erratic, pro-Russia and pro-Putin statements and actions are a stark contrast with America’s historical foreign policy in this regard. Whether it’s statements that Ukraine provoked the war , or his attempt to bully Zelenskyy on television, Trump is regurgitating Russian propaganda for the whole world to see.
The behavior is filtering down to the rank and file too, as commentators like Marjorie Taylor Greene have expressed pro-Russian talking points , in signs that the Republican party’s viewpoint on Russia is shifting at a more basic level. The rhetoric surrounding allies such as Canada and the U.K., or Trump’s statements that the EU is designed to harm America, represent a remarkable shift in American diplomacy that could have severe and lasting consequences for decades to come. Whether or not Trump is an official asset, if he’s talking and acting exactly like one, what’s the difference?