Russia Angle: Road to the White House Still Bumpy for Trump
Although Trump has loudly questioned the authenticity of the report, most Americans – who are not his blind supporters – want Trump to come clean on the issue. They believe where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
By Rakesh Raman
The Russia spectre that has been haunting the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump throughout the election stretch has refused to disappear.
The classified part of the report – that the U.S. intelligence agencies used to inform President Obama and Trump about Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election – reveals Trump’s secret relations with Russia.
News site BuzzFeed quoted the report today to state that the Russian government has been “cultivating, supporting and assisting” Trump for at least five years, and has sought to exploit “personal obsessions and sexual perversion.”
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Although Trump has loudly questioned the authenticity of the report, most Americans – who are not his blind supporters – want Trump to come clean on the issue. They believe where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Trump almost cried in a series of tweets today to say that he has no links with Russia and the communist country never tried to use him. And when he lacks logic, he starts blaming the media.
Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA – NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2017
I win an election easily, a great “movement” is verified, and crooked opponents try to belittle our victory with FAKE NEWS. A sorry state!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2017
But Trump’s arguments sound shallow given the fact that despite repeated demands from Democrats as well as Republicans, he has refused to release his tax returns.
Many believe that Trump’s tax returns can reveal about his shady business deals with Russian and other entities. As he has been offering lame excuses about the delay in releasing returns, it becomes apparent that he wants to hide something that can put his presidency in jeopardy.
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It appears that since Russia knows the secrets behind Trump’s victory, that country is virtually holding him to ransom. Obviously, Trump is doing everything possible to please Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin. You can clearly see Trump’s nervousness in the unconditional favor he is showing these days for Russia.
“Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. Only ‘stupid’ people, or fools, would think that it is bad!” Trump said Saturday.
Earlier, the President-elect Trump praised Putin’s remarks when Putin said after the U.S. election that it is important for Democrats and Hillary Clinton to know how to lose gracefully.
Among his other pro-Russia decisions, Trump ignored former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney to select Rex Tillerson for the Secretary of State position, while Tillerson is believed to be a friend of Putin.
Moreover, after winning the election, Trump has always defended Russia, saying that Putin’s people may not be behind the alleged election hacking, as he does not have any solid proof of it.
Even now when the intelligence report has revealed its findings against Russia, Trump is not quite ready to trust the U.S. agencies, although he has issued politically correct statements expressing his confidence in them.
As the controversy about Trump’s secret ties with Russia has exploded, it will be difficult – if not impossible – for him to steer clear of it – even when he becomes the President after the inauguration on January 20.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a government award-winning journalist and runs free school for deserving children under his NGO – RMN Foundation.
