I haven't seen this administration "protecting" Russia, and that includes Trump. Did you miss the sanctions that hit on Apr 6th? They really roiled Russian markets. One Putin buddy, Oleg Deripaska, saw his company's valuation implode overnight (Rusal - Google chart linked below). You can also see panic in the Russian MOEX index, as well as in the currency markets.

Sure, Trump has an affinity for fellow strongmen types, and he encourages their bad behavior by setting a terrible example here at home by constantly attacking the media & threatening political opponents (though both those groups contribute to the food fight). But we have pushed back on Russia far harder in this administration than in any recent one. We've seen arming Ukraine with weapons, strikes in Syria, increasing oil exports, and an expansion of NATO - even though I detest the way he went about browbeating our European allies for funds on that last point).

I much prefer Nikki Haley. She's a star in my eyes. But the narrative that Trump is protecting Russia isn't quite accurate.







[Post edited by Hoo05Dave at 04/18/2018 03:06AM]