One needs to be careful throwing around accusations or even suspicions that Trump acted as a Russian or Saudi asset as president. But when one learns of Trump’s use of intelligence reports and hears that Trump liked to gain leverage over our allies while deepening his friendships with some of the world’s monsters, it’s almost impossible to wave away some considerations. The New York Times reports that Trump was most interested in intelligence that he could use as leverage over our friends, such as Merkel, Trudeau, and Macron, rather than information needed to protect us from Kim, Xi, and Putin.
According to the Times:
“As president, Donald J. Trump showed the most interest in intelligence briefings when the topics revolved around his personal relationships with world leaders and the power available at his fingertips…
“Mr. Trump devoured intelligence briefings about his foreign counterparts before and after calls with them. He was eager to deepen his relationships with autocrats like Kim Jong-un of North Korea or Xi Jinping of China and to get leverage over allies he took a personal dislike to, such as Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada,”
It cannot possibly be a coincidence that Trump personally disliked some of the world’s least corrupt and most respected leaders. It is also highly suspicious that Trump’s interests and actions mirror what one would expect of Vladimir Putin. It is near impossible to picture Vladimir Putin and Justin Trudeau developing a personal friendship. Macron would never take a warm interest in Kim Jong-un.
Trump was also just childish:
“With many world leaders, Mr. Trump, whose own dalliances were the stuff of gossip columns for years, was fascinated by what the C.I.A. had learned about his international counterparts’ supposed extramarital affairs — not because he was going to confront them with the information, former officials said, but rather because he found it titillating.
Trump would brag that he knew “illicit details” about Macron’s sex life. An adult United States President would only want to know such details to protect Macron and perhaps deliver a warning that adversaries might hold the information over him. Of course, that assumes the U.S. president cares about our allies.
It need not even be said that this is a bad time to hear about Trump’s cavalier and childish use of intelligence gathered by some of the most serious and endangered people on earth.
@JasonMiciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, and currently studies philosophy of science, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact for speaking engagements or any concerns.
Discussion about this post