Russian Summit

            President Donald Trump met with Vladimir Putin on Monday of this week. Both men preserved their alpha male status with their posturing. Trump’s main task in opening talks with Putin is to clean up some of the messes left by the Obama administration.

            Trump claims that “Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!” Meanwhile, Democrats are concerned that Trump will either be outsmarted by Putin or collude with the enemy. Some people are afraid that Putin will give Trump information on the Democrats colluding with Russia.

            The Democrats have every reason to be concerned. In 2012 Barack Obama told Dmitri Medvedev that he would “have more flexibility” to work with Russia after being re-elected. Later Hillary Clinton sold 20 percent of America’s uranium and cashed in on the sale and speaking engagements. Then there is the failure of her famous “reset button.” Yes, there are some big messes for Trump to clean up.

            Mark Alexander of The Patriot Post says that Obama was weak and subservient to Russia and referred to the “more flexibility” statement. Then he compares the policy of Donald Trump to see if it promotes or contains Russian power. He says that there are “a couple of key elements.” 

First, Russia’s anemic economy is totally dependent on oil and gas prices, so what has Trump done? Opened the gate on oil exploration to keep the price down. And in general, to ensure dominance over totalitarian and dictator states, Trump is taking action to rekindle America’s economic might.

Second, Trump is following Ronald Reagan’s playbook to rebuild our military to contain threats like Russian expansion into Ukraine, which got a yawn from Obama.

            In addition to the two “key elements” outlined in March 2017, Nate Jackson says that Trump is using the same type of hyperbole with Putin as he did with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. Jackson writes that when Trump says that he hopes to have an “extraordinary relationship” with Putin,” he is using “flattery for strategic gain.” Jackson says that “it’s certainly clear [Trump] aims to mop up Obama’s messes,” particularly after the way that he shook up NATO last week. 

            Whatever comes of the Russian Summit, it cannot be bad for world leaders to have an open discussion about their relationship. Just as a friendship between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev shredded the Iron Curtain and ended the Cold War, a good relationship between Trump and Putin can bring more peace to the world.