The New York Times reports that Bob Wordward's new book War includes a few stories about Donald Trump being Putin's stooge.
When the world, including the United States, was suffering a dire shortage of COVID-19 tests, Trump was sending tests to his pal Putin for "personal use." After leaving office, there are stories of Donald rushing aides out of his way to take a private call with his good buddy, Vladimir. Campaign spokespeople do a terrible job denying the calls have happened or may be ongoing.
Former President Donald J. Trump has secretly spoken with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as many as seven times since leaving office, even as he was pressuring Republicans to block military aid to Ukraine to fight Russian invaders, according to a new book by the journalist Bob Woodward.
The book, titled "War" and scheduled to be published next week, describes a scene in early 2024 at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump's estate in Florida, when the former president ordered an aide out of his office so he could conduct a phone call with Mr. Putin. The unidentified aide said the two may have spoken a half-dozen other times as well since Mr. Trump left the White House.
The book also reports that Mr. Trump, while still in office early during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, secretly sent Mr. Putin what were then rare tests for the virus for the Russian's personal use. Mr. Putin, who has been described as particularly anxious about being infected at the time, urged Mr. Trump to not publicly reveal the gesture because it could damage the American president politically. "I don't want you to tell anybody because people will get mad at you, not me," Mr. Putin reportedly told him.
New York Times
Putin even reputedly encouraged Trump not to tell anyone about the gifts, as it would have hurt Trump's reputation. Such a caring friend! Trump is likely flattered to be managed by the big guy himself, so valuable to the team!
When asked about whether the former president and his one-time Russian counterpart had been keeping in touch, Trump campaign official Jason Miller pushed back in a hesitating manner.
"Um, ah, not that, ah, not that I'm aware of," Miller told Woodward. "I have not heard that they're talking, so I'd push back on that."
RawStory
It sounds like Trump was doing more than talking to his buddy and, as a private citizen, is interfering with National security. I remember there being legal problems with his "Team" getting too close to Russia before the Orange Menace took office, and I suspect he is, once again, breaking the law.
Previously:
• New York Times finally realizes Trump is old and confused
