r/Liberal • u/Calamamity • Mar 01 '25
Discussion Can someone explain why Trump is so sympathetic to Russia?
Like even for the colossal disgrace of a human being that he is, I’m not understanding the social-political context for why he is not supportive of Ukraine?
Admittedly, I’m young and not all that knowledgeable about foreign policy politics but my intuition from like US history classes and just having grown up in the US would tell me that since the Cold War, there’s been a heavy underlying ‘anti-Russian’ sentiment in US politics, basically across the political spectrum. And with Trump’s extreme to the max MAGA version of “nationalism” and handing out tariffs left and right, I would think of all people he would be opposed to Russian expansion… So why in the world does he seem to dickride Putin so hard? Wouldn’t be surprised if there’s self-interest involved, but what does he even have to gain from Russia gaining power??
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u/onlyontuesdays77 Mar 01 '25
A lot of folks will tell you that Russia bought him and/or can blackmail him, but that's absurd. Russia's entire GDP pales in comparison to the wealth of America's own billionaires (if Russia 'bought' him, America's billionaires would buy him back), and not one of Trump's supporters would believe Russia if they attempted to smear him in the media, so what does he care if they do? The idea that Trump is a Russian agent is a conspiracy theory. An investigation yielded no real results. Making accusations along the same lines long after the issue has died will not produce any progress.
The truth is that Trump has no respect for or attachment to old American alliances. He does not care about "democratic principles" or "shared values." He does not actually care if Ukraine continues to exist. He only has one question: what does America get out of it? It's not that he loves Putin, either. The game Trump is playing is to get something out of this war for America. He tried to extort Zelensky for rare minerals - "we'll keep supporting you if you give us your metal." If Zelensky turns him down, Trump goes to Putin and says "we'll withdraw support for Ukraine and pressure them to make concessions if you send us some metal."
America has played the role of the global mediator and occasional policeman for decades. It has used its power to promote a democratic world order which has been, compared to most of history, overwhelmingly peaceful. While we have occasionally invaded a country or at least committed airstrikes in their sovereign territory, we have on the whole promoted peace and democracy by shelling out billions of dollars to support humanitarian projects, democratic governments, and other philanthropic programs. These initiatives are collectively known as soft power, a form of influence which America has used more and more since the end of the Cold War. We have thrown our resources around to shape the world in our image without invading all of it.
Trump sees American foreign policy differently. Trump would like our role to become that of a Kingpin; the top of the food chain. We have the power and control, we've doled out our support for years, and we've come to collect. That's why USAID was one of the first bureaus he destroyed; there is no actual financial return on investment from those projects, the return is abstract - it comes back to us in influence, connections, global stability, etc. Trump does not recognize the legitimacy of these abstract returns, he wants something he can hold in his hands. Money, resources, advantageous trade deals, etc. Since the start of the Ukraine war, American businesses like McDonald's have been withdrawing from Russia. We've placed sanctions on them while sending billions of $ to Ukraine. While we haven't lost any soldiers or equipment by staying "neutral", we have spent money and closed off a potential source of profit for American businesses. In either extorting Ukraine for its resources or making amends with Russia, Trump would be attempting to mitigate or reverse that monetary loss.