He has given Russia everything they could ever want in return for nothing, and attacks our allies at every opportunity, if he isn't Russian controlled, he might as well be, for makes no difference.

250% Tariffs on Canada now, does that sound reasonable? Can you think of a single sane reason to even have tarrifs on our close ally Canada? The reason is obvious, to drive a wedge between Canada and the US, and to make both countries poorer for it.

> He has given Russia everything they could ever want in return for nothing

Says someone who doesn't understand anything about Russia. If you actually watched Russian mainstream media you would understand how much they dislike Trump and disagree with him. This sudden overture over Ukraine has even caught them by surprise and they are suspicious, though welcome, of this new development.

To suggest that Trump is Russia-controlled is to expose your complete ignorance of how Russians think. The Russians hated Trump's first term and consider it to be a disaster.

I do watch Russian mainstream media, and they're all gushing over Trump. They are explicitly saying Russia and the US share a common enemy, Europe.

Proof: https://youtu.be/54rl-Z8F62U

This lie started with Lavrov on Tucker Carlson, where he said the the US is important but Europe cannot be forgiven.

Since the Trump win this talking point is mainstream on all Russian aligned outlets, who previously blamed the US (Nuland, Biden, Obama) for the war.

It is hard to tell what the game is:

1) (Most cynical) Trump and Russia want to divide up the world. Russia gets Ukraine and will not object to the US getting Greenland.

2) (Pragmatic) Both Russia and the US are low on weapons and would actually like a ceasefire. They blame Europe for preventing the deal.

3) (Neocon, continuity of agenda) Trump insults the EU in order to make them increase their military budget, so they can take over the Ukraine war by themselves and never talk to Russia again. The Russian media still hasn't caught on (or just uses the EU as the current convenient enemy for domestic consumption).

Some game is being played here, perhaps it's "the great game".

The US doesn't like the EU as a strong entity on equal footing or the Euro as a strong global currency, but wants weaker and more divided countries that can be controlled.

This isn't a Trump-exclusive thing, the relationship has gradually soured ever since Obama and when TTIP fell through, it just wasn't as public.

Well now you are just spewing obviously false nonsense, so you are either a russian troll or a lost cause.

This is just false.

It’s a bit like that time Putin said he’d prefer Kamala with a wink and all the MAGAs started yelling “SEE!?!?”.

It’s obvious enough reverse psychology that even a five-year-old would roll their eyes at it.

Russian state media adores Trump, and I suspect the parent is fully aware of this.

>> Russia-controlled US

> This sentiment is ridiculous and needs to stop.

I am not the one saying that the US is being controlled by Russia, but it seems like a more reasonable and convincing take than yours at explaining why the US is busy dismantling every leverage of power that made it a global hegemon after the second world war. Surely there are winners, and all evidence points towards them not being the average US citizen (nor that of formerly US-aligned countries).

> explaining why the US is busy dismantling every leverage of power

The same reason Gorbachev got busy dismantling every leverage of power that the Soviet Union exercised in its last days: because he realized it was overextended and needed to slow down or go bankrupt and collapse. It did anyway, despite his best efforts at reform.

Trump and Musk have long been proponents of the idea that the US is overextended and far too deeply in debt. Whether you agree with them or not, that doesn't make them "Russia controlled".

Oh, so now that's because the US is overextended... Then it's formidable that you think they are doing something good and significant about it, because nobody's convinced.

No, I do not believe that Trump and Musk are doing a good job. I just compared them to Gorbachev. But to suggest they are Russia-controlled is batshit insane, it's like the people who say "the Jews control everything".

Partly controlled maybe. Here's an article

>29 times Donald Trump did what Putin wanted https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-...

Can you cite any times he did something the Putin didn't want him to do? And I mean not just saying he's thinking of putting sanctions on Russia but actually doing any sort of sanctions whatsoever while he stops all support and shouts at their victims?

The article assumes to know what Putin wants.

Don't you find it a bit strange that absolutely everything the new US government does and says is good for Russia and disastrous for the traditional allies?

In the sense that the US suddenly came to its senses, yes it is strange. Breath of fresh air.

This war was provoked and escalated by the US State Department. Pulling back and giving the Russians some space is the only way that doesn't look like it'll escalate further into the disaster. Thank goodness the US voting public is a bit better at sniffing out reasonable men than whoever handles hiring for the US government.

If the Europeans could shake the same mad instinct to mass up and charge Russia that worked so badly every other time there was a big war that'd also be helpful. 3rd time is not a charm.

Rubbish, so far it was Russia and Russia alone escalating, everybody else merely reacted.

> This war was provoked and escalated by the US State Department.

The State Department provoked the war by:

* Stating that the US would not put boots on the ground if Russia invaded Ukraine.

* Opposing troop deployments from other NATO countries to Ukraine.

* Withdrawing US soldiers from joint exercises in Ukraine.

* Reducing embassy staffing to a minimum.

* Refusing to provide heavy weapons like artillery, tanks, and fighter jets to Ukraine.

* Offering to evacuate Ukraine's leadership.

> Pulling back and giving the Russians some space is the only way that doesn't look like it'll escalate further into the disaster.

This is a superb idea, because it has worked so well so far. Russia has matched every Western retreat and pulled back on their side too. That's why the war ended three years ago.

"good for Russia and disastrous for traditional allies" in your interpretation. In the interpretation of others, it is "good for America and better to be anti-globalist".

"good for America"... I don't think Canada or Mexico are thrilled by Trumps actions so far. It's at best good for a handful oligarchs in the USA. For everybody else it will be a rough awakening. I would be very surprised if isolationism will work, it would be a first.

Or for the US… There are two main winners: Russia and the American oligarchs. And China to a lesser extent.

One of the reasons freedom of speech is a good thing is because idiots tend to readily expose themselves as such.

>Just because a person's anti-globalist policy choices happen to align with Russia

There's more to it than that.

Who is the worst actor on the international stage? Pretty much Putin. Who does Trump never criticize or do anything against? Putin. After the 2016 election when the US security services said Russia had interfered what did Trump do? Said he trusted Putin over his own intelligence. etc. etc.