Trump keeps rewarding Russia’s Putin in exchange for nothing

In the abstract, it’s possible to imagine the White House negotiating a difficult compromise to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, which might very well include some distasteful concessions, such as financial benefits for Vladimir Putin’s regime.

But among the most striking things about Donald Trump’s recent gifts to his counterpart in Moscow is that they’re unearned. The American president is making concessions, not to advance an international agreement, but in exchange for nothing — as if Trump somehow believes he needs to compensate Putin for reasons he hasn’t explained.

The New York Times reported on the series of wins the Republican handed to Putin — including sanctions relief for Russian diesel fuel and fresh condemnations of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — which preceded the Russian leader launching a new round of violence, which Trump claims he hopes to end. From the article:

Minutes after Mr. Trump announced the diesel deal, the Kremlin reiterated Mr. Putin’s stance that he would not negotiate with Ukraine at the moment, because he remained angry about Ukrainian strikes during last month’s Russian parliamentary election.

The next day, Russia launched an attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia that killed 22 people, including four children. … And Mr. Putin has signaled that he plans to escalate further, aiming to knock out Ukraine’s power and water infrastructure in what Ukrainians expect to be the worst winter of the war.

To be sure, it’s not exactly new to see Trump show humiliating weakness to Putin. On the contrary, it has been a staple of his political career.

But in recent days, the American president’s kowtowing has taken an almost cartoonish turn. Trump is pumping billions of dollars into the Russian economy? Check. Trump is ignoring an existing U.S. law that bans Russian oil imports? Check. Trump is echoing Kremlin talking points on the faltering peace process? Check. Trump is peddling false accusations against Ukraine? Check. Trump is looking the other way on Russia aiding Iran during the ongoing U.S. war? Check. Trump is handing Putin a diplomatic victory by inviting him to the upcoming Group of 20 summit in Miami? Check.

Again, if the White House were inclined to make the case that Trump is grudgingly extending benefits to Moscow as part of a broader agreement that advances U.S. interests, we could at least have a conversation about the merits of the underlying deal.

But there is no deal. Trump is simply treating every day as if it were Putin’s birthday, and he wants to demonstrate his affection for the Russian dictator with a series of lavish presents, sparking a new round of speculation about why in the world the American president is doing this.

In 2020, former Sen. Dan Coats, a Republican who served as Trump’s director of national intelligence during the president’s first term, conceded in an interview with Bob Woodward that he spent much of his tenure as DNI wondering what Putin had on Trump — a concern that intensified over time.

“How else to explain the president’s behavior? Coats could see no other explanation,” Woodward wrote.

Six years later, the relevance of Coats’ comments lingers for a reason.

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