During his presidency, Donald Trump reportedly went to “extraordinary lengths to conceal details of his conversations” with Russia’s Vladimir Putin — at one point even “taking possession” of his own interpreter’s notes after a conversation with his ally in Moscow. While in office, the Republican never explained the reasoning behind the secrecy.
But questions surrounding the former president’s post-defeat interactions with the Russian leader have taken the scandal to an entirely new level. NBC News reported:
Former President Donald Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin as many as seven times since he left the White House, including as recently as this year, according to new reporting by journalist Bob Woodward. Woodward makes the claims in his forthcoming book, “War,” a dramatic account of the White House under Trump and President Joe Biden that details elements of their relationships with foreign leaders. The book is set to be published Oct. 15.
At face value, the allegations are so extraordinary that they sound like outlandish claims a far-left Trump critic might concoct to make the GOP candidate appear ridiculous. According to the legendary Washington Post journalist, however, the events actually happened.
Broadly speaking, there are two elements to the story, neither of which have been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News. The first is Trump — according to Woodward, who cited a source close to the former president — kept in touch with Putin after leaving the White House, speaking to the autocrat as many as seven times, which works out to be an average of one undisclosed chat roughly every six months.
Why would a former American president feel the need to communicate with Russia’s autocratic leader seven times after leaving office? That seems like a question in need of an answer.
The second element raised by Woodward is that Trump secretly sent Putin Covid testing equipment at the height of the pandemic, even as people in his own country struggled to gain access to such resources.
Putin, according to Woodward’s account, specifically directed Trump to keep this secret. The Republican — who has an unfortunate habit of blurting out information that he’s supposed to keep under wraps — followed his Russian benefactor’s instructions.
The former president has denounced the claims in the book as untrue. According to the Kremlin, Trump really did send Covid testing devices to Putin — in secret — at the height of the crisis. (The Kremlin denied that the two leaders had spoken by phone several times since Trump left office.)
Common sense suggests that the GOP candidate might be a little rattled by the allegations and would take steps to distance himself from his Moscow ally. But as the public learned of the story, Trump thought it’d be a good idea to once again defend his close relationship with Putin, boasting during an interview with conservative podcast host Ben Shapiro about how much he “got along with“ with the Russian leader.
Chances are, this wasn’t what Vice President Kamala Harris intended to focus on with four weeks remaining before Election Day, but sometimes, candidates have to shift gears and take advantage of opportunities as they arise.
With this in mind, the Democratic nominee spoke at some length about the controversy in multiple interviews, and as the day came to an end, Harris’ team unveiled a hard-hitting television ad highlighting the allegations.
Donald Trump has put Putin over the American people time and time again.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 9, 2024
Now, a new report says that he secretly sent Putin COVID tests while withholding them from sick Americans.
Watch our new ad: pic.twitter.com/kyrS6kBgnB
Let’s also not lose sight of the larger chain of recent events. These new allegations come on the heels of Trump refusing to say whether he wants our Ukrainian allies to prevail in the war against Russia.
Which came on the heels of Trump denouncing U.S. efforts to combat Russian misinformation campaigns, going so far as to characterize Russia as a victim.
Which came on the heels of the GOP candidate talking up the possibility of lifting U.S. sanctions against Russia. Which came weeks after Trump publicly congratulated Russia over an historic prisoner swap. Which came on the heels of the Republican pointing to Putin for validation to justify his position on Ukraine. Which came on the heels of the former American president celebrating the fact that Putin was echoing his talking points about the 2024 election and Trump’s multiple criminal indictments. Which came on the heels of Trump telling a Mar-a-Lago audience how “smart” Putin was for invading a neighboring country. Which came on the heels of Trump describing Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as “genius” and part of a “wonderful” strategy. Which came on the heels of years’ worth of Trump kowtowing, genuflecting, and repeatedly showing abject weakness toward his Russian ally. Is it any wonder why Moscow is reportedly going to considerable lengths to “shape the outcome” of the 2024 race “in favor of” Trump? This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
Latest Post
Recommended
