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Donald Trump appears to like Vladimir Putin more than he liked Obama
Vox ^ | June 17, 2015 | Zack Beauchamp

Posted on 06/18/2015 5:31:12 AM PDT by McGruff

Donald Trump, who is actually running for president of the United States, had some things to say about Russian President Vladimir Putin in a Fox News interview that ran on Monday night:

Putin has no respect for our president whatsoever. He's got a tremendous popularity in Russia, they love what he's doing, they love what he represents.

Trump went on to advocate for improving ties with Putin, explaining that his 2013 trip to Russia (he was there for the Miss Universe pageant) made him perfect for such a job. "I would be willing to bet I would have a great relationship with Putin," he said.

"I was over in Moscow two years ago, and I will tell you — you can get along with those people, and get along with them well," Trump explained. "You can make deals with those people. Obama can't."

Trump's affinity for Russia's strongman makes a certain kind of sense: Trump would make a fantastic Russian oligarch. But there's a serious political point here: this kind of nuttery isn't great for Trump, but it's a boon to other Republican presidential candidates looking to highlight their own, less insane foreign policy views.

Trump is super unpopular among Republicans, and positions like "We should cuddle up to the anti-American strongman in the Kremlin" aren't exactly going to endear him to the GOP base. That, as Dan Drezner points out, sets up other candidates to smash him: "Eviscerating Trump on the debate stage could be a way for a Cruz or a Paul or Christie or a Perry to stand out."

That's especially true on foreign policy, an increasingly important issue for Republican voters and especially for big donors. Jeb Bush, for example, is having a lot of problems articulating a strong position on foreign policy. That's helped Marco Rubio, a senator who's spent years developing his foreign policy bona fides, become the favorite among some leading hawks.

Bashing Trump's Putin babble is a good opportunity for Bush to do something pretty entertaining — and demonstrate his ability to sell the GOP company line on foreign policy in the process.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
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I found this kind of humorous. Whatever you think of him Trump is no wallflower.
1 posted on 06/18/2015 5:31:12 AM PDT by McGruff
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To: McGruff
This guy is a Thinkprogress editor; bit hard to take seriously in any capacity.


2 posted on 06/18/2015 5:34:45 AM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: McGruff
The writer/hit-man missed the point that Trump is a capitalist not a dictator like Putin or 0. Trump will make the case for business and capitalism not communism like the r&d dictators we have now.
3 posted on 06/18/2015 5:37:30 AM PDT by mountainlion (Live well for those that did not make it back.)
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To: McGruff

Hell, I like Putin more than I like Obuma.


4 posted on 06/18/2015 5:38:04 AM PDT by x1stcav (Why does Eleanor Clift always look like her private parts are causing her acute pain?)
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To: Olog-hai

The Russians love ThinkProgress. Heck, they probably fund it.


5 posted on 06/18/2015 5:38:26 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: McGruff

So this neckbeard millennial metrosexual knows less than nothing about Republican voters?


6 posted on 06/18/2015 5:38:48 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You can help: https://donate.tedcruz.org/c/FBTX0095/)
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To: x1stcav
0bama or Putin

Which one has done more damage to the USA?

7 posted on 06/18/2015 5:42:18 AM PDT by from occupied ga (Your government is your most dangerous enemy)
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To: McGruff

Both obam and Putin clearly hate America, but Putin is an outsider and can’t effect much fundamental change. The obam is operating the levers of power inside the country and is clearly a bigger threat to America.


8 posted on 06/18/2015 5:43:48 AM PDT by Sgt_Schultze (If a border fence isn't effective, why is there a border fence around the White House?)
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To: x1stcav

Lol!!!


9 posted on 06/18/2015 5:44:00 AM PDT by mothball
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To: McGruff

Can I say I “like” Vladimir Putin more than Obama, and I “like” Obama more than the GOP gumless “leaders”?

At least I know where my enemies are.


10 posted on 06/18/2015 5:46:06 AM PDT by Sir Napsalot (Pravda + Useful Idiots = CCCP; JournOList + Useful Idiots = DopeyChangey!)
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To: McGruff

Putin has never done anything evil to me. Obama has been doing that.


11 posted on 06/18/2015 5:47:25 AM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (Without God there would be no science.)
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To: McGruff
I like Putin more than Obama, Boehner, and McConnell combined.
12 posted on 06/18/2015 5:51:06 AM PDT by GunningForTheBuddha (DC is like a car full of clowns off their meds.)
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To: McGruff

Perhaps Trump thinks it’s preferable to deal with a Communist who admits he’s a Communist.


13 posted on 06/18/2015 5:55:07 AM PDT by CaptainK (...please make it stop. Shake a can of pennies at it.)
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To: x1stcav
Same here. Say what you will about Putin, at least he loves his country. There is simply, NO WAY you can say that about Obozo. Obozo is every bit as dictatorial as Putin is. Obama’s war on the press, including sending the FBI TO terrorize that Fox News reporter AND his family, as well as secretly hoovering up the AP,s emails, rival anything Putin's ever done to the press.
14 posted on 06/18/2015 5:56:10 AM PDT by SmokingJoe
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To: everyone
Not worth another thread but,

Trump Trashes Other Candidates, Praises Putin on 'O'Reilly' - NewsMax

15 posted on 06/18/2015 6:00:33 AM PDT by McGruff (It's gonna get ugly round here.)
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To: FlingWingFlyer

I think we’re in North Korea now. Individual citizens can be persecuted for not sufficiently “Liking” our Dear Leader in public.


16 posted on 06/18/2015 6:02:17 AM PDT by Dr. Pritchett
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To: SmokingJoe

Putin gives Russians what they have craved since the days of Ivan the Terrible - ironfisted dictatorial leadership.

Obama is a pathetic dictator wannabe. Unlike Putin he could be stopped but his opposition is as feckless as he is.


17 posted on 06/18/2015 6:22:19 AM PDT by elcid1970 ("The Second Amendment is more important than Islam.")
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To: McGruff

I, too, prefer Putin over Obama.


18 posted on 06/18/2015 6:30:17 AM PDT by GingisK
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To: McGruff
I would love to have Trump negotiating with Putin. Put those two minds and egos together, and they just might find some solutions.

Why: They're both the kind of guys who understand win-win as the ideal outcome of a negotiation. A community organizer bully mentality (ie: Obama, Boehner etc ad nauseum) goes for win-lose.

19 posted on 06/18/2015 6:33:22 AM PDT by grania
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To: Sir Napsalot

Putin loves Russia—he doesn’t give a tinker’s damm about the USA. Whe know where he stands. Obama—we haven’t a clue where he stands—We do know there is much about America he hates—Police—etc... Obama seems bent of making America into his vision of a European failed state.


20 posted on 06/18/2015 7:15:49 AM PDT by Forward the Light Brigade (Into the Jaws of H*ll Onward! Ride to the sound of the guns!)
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