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The American government has been compromised by Russia. It no longer represents American interests, but Russian interests. Whether the senior powers in America

The American government has been compromised by Russia. It no longer represents American interests, but Russian interests. Whether the senior powers in America are compromised, complicit, or opportunist, it doesn't matter. America is being damaged. Russian interests are being prioritized over American interests. Our military is too powerful for direct conflict, so alternative conflict against our political structure and economy is more logical. America is experiencing a decapitation strike, and our military is not defending us from these domestic enemies. https://archive.is/1xkxK https://archive.is/1xkxK (Decapitation Strike -- Timothy Snyder)

logicchains 2y ago
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- OfficeChad 2y ago
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- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 2y ago
  > It represents the interests of the American people who voted for Trump It really doesn't and they'll come to feel it even if they don't recognize it.
  - logicchains 2y ago
    Please elaborate how sending hundreds of billions of dollars to Ukraine is in the interests of the average Trump voter.
    - ceejayoz 2y ago
      We don't actually really do that. The majority of the "funds" pay for products like shells and missiles made by American labor (which encompasses quite a few Trump voters!) in America with American parts and American steel and American know-how. We're donating no-longer-used Bradleys, F-16s, Javelins that are reaching (sometimes past!) their expiration date, etc. https://www.csis.org/analysis/what-ukraine-aid-package-and-what-does-it-mean-future-war https://www.csis.org/analysis/what-ukraine-aid-package-and-w... > The notion of “aid to Ukraine” is a misnomer. Despite images of “pallets of cash” being sent to Ukraine, about 72 percent of this money overall and 86 percent of the military aid will be spent in the United States. The reason for this high percentage is that weapons going to Ukraine are produced in U.S. factories, payments to U.S. service members are mostly spent in the United States, and even some piece of the humanitarian aid is spent in the United States. (As a bonus, we're getting to try out all our stuff against Russia's best, in a way we've never really gotten to. It's an incredible ad for American defense contractors.) If you'd told the old Cold Warriors that a small fraction of a single year's military budget could turn the Russian military into a shadow of its original, they would not have believed you.
    - sph 2y ago
      Did you guys already forget 9/11 and invoking Article 5 of the NATO agreement for an issue on your soil? Please elaborate how starting a war in Afghanistan was in Europe's interests. In fact, it was the USA that had created Bin Laden in the first place. All I hear from MAGA is hypocrisy and revisionism.
  - ffsm8 2y ago
    It's hilarious how some people actually believe Trump's lies that Ukraines support is actually freely given/a donation. In reality, the support is literally the US selling the old garbage military equipment to the Ukraine for debt. You know, the stuff that the actual US military considers too old to actually use anymore. Especially ironic in the context of Ukraines treaty with the US, which is why they dont have any nukes anymore. Which was most likely the reason why Russia finally felt comfortable invading them in 2014 and now.
    - sertraline 2y ago
      >selling the old garbage EU does the same.
      - ffsm8 2y ago
        Despite that being a lie... If it weren't, I'm not sure how that's relevant? The EU isn't demanding that the Ukraine becomes an effective colony to be exploited at will by thenn for dubious claims of a solution. Neither did it have the treaty. Both of which were the things that made it ironic.
rayiner 2y ago
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- WitCanStain 2y ago
  Risking American lives? How many Americans have died in the war as a result of US aid?
  - rayiner 2y ago
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- nine_zeros 2y ago
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  - ziddoap 2y ago
    >It takes a little more comprehension skills to understand words. I understand if you didn't get that comprehensive education. I vehemently disagree with rayiner, often, but you personally attacking them only serves to weaken your position.
    - nine_zeros 2y ago
      > I vehemently disagree with rayiner, often, but you personally attacking them only serves to weaken your position. Glad you see the reality. I don't care about my position but only the reality.
      - deleted 2y ago
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  - rayiner 2y ago
    You think Russia is going to nuke America if Ukraine loses the war?
nico 2y ago
> It no longer represents American interests, but Russian interests And Israeli interests And that’s across pretty much all branches of governments and administrations, for quite some time now American people’s needs be damned
- deleted 2y ago
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- rayiner 2y ago
  How does it matter to the “needs” of the american people what happens to Ukraine one way or the other?
  - JohnBooty 2y ago
    If you don't understand why stability in Europe matters to America, you might want to read about World War II. It had a rather pronounced affect on America. Some other countries too, I think.
    - alephnerd 2y ago
      I support Atlanticism, but this overestimates the US's need and relations with Europe (EU and non-EU) in the 21st century. Our trade with APAC dwarfs total European trade, and America has ~150k armed personnel deployed in the Pacific versus ~65k in Europe. Europe can and should be able to manage Russia and Africa for us - this is what they did well until the 2000s. Both Dem and Republican admins since the Bush admin have been pushing for Europe to regain it's strategic autonomy. Trump is absolutely mismanaging this relationship, but a broken clock is right twice a day.
      - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
        > this overestimates the US's need and relations with Europe (EU and non-EU) in the 21st century If Europe goes to war America is in a higher state of defcon even if we try to pretend we’re uninvolved. Global trade would crash which means a lot of middle class jobs vanishing.
outside2344 2y ago
Or whatever interests have compromised or bribed the administration
- lostlogin 2y ago
  Surely that points towards Russia? What are you suggesting?
  - SauciestGNU 2y ago
    I read that as currently but not solely or always Russia.
  - hightrix 2y ago
    I assume the insinuation is of Musk buying the presidency.
    - threeseed 2y ago
      Which he unquestionably has. Look at what is happening with FAA and Verizon.
  - cmrdporcupine 2y ago
    Consider there are interests in common between sectors in Russia and the USA that are not at the state level, but private capital. In particular, both nations are energy exporters. And the political class in Russia is explicitly a petro-regime. There's no need to go looking for conspiracy theories around Trump being "compromised." He's behaving just like any wealthy person with ties to the energy sector would, should they seize state power. They are acting in the interests of the oil industry, both of them. Capitalism doesn't really have borders. Borders are for chumps like you and I.
mistercheph 2y ago
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huang_chung 2y ago
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Chance-Device 2y ago
Russia seems to own the far right mindspace to a large degree, and I’m sure they’ve spent a large amount of resources for many years shaping those perspectives and narratives to suit themselves. I also suspect that Russia has been causing the very problems that the far right reacts against, most notably immigration. Remember wirecard? Germany’s fintech darling, which was run by Jan Marsalek, who turned out to be a Russian spy? What was one of the things they were doing? Funding people smuggling into Europe. To strengthen the right that Russia owns. https://www.rferl.org/amp/russia-wirecard-marsalek-spy/32844424.html https://www.rferl.org/amp/russia-wirecard-marsalek-spy/32844... They’ve been directly disrupting the west while controlling those who offer the “solution”.
- waihtis 2y ago
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- deleted 2y ago
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- onlyrealcuzzo 2y ago
  Checks out - Russia is the country you end up with when you have the far right's ideology.
  - spwa4 2y ago
    I don't understand why the focus on one side? Russia was caught financing extreme-left parties, religious parties (including hamas, isis and hezbollah), conservative parties (moderate and extreme), rebels, terrorists ... Certainly seems Russia has no ideology they care about beyond "sabotage states", with some priority on western states, but certainly not just western states. They fund political parties in ex-Yugoslavia that are LITERALLY at each other's throats (with knives and guns, not with protests and shouting). They're sowing chaos wherever they can, however they can. Priority seems to be on the UK, Brussels/EU and the US, but it's not like they're not doing it in places like Rwanda as well. Whether that means supporting extreme-left, extreme right, or just whoever is willing to turn guns on the police or some ethnic group they hate, Russia/Putin just doesn't care. Hell, daesh/isis got funding from Russia, killed 145 Russians in Moscow ... and Russia funded them again, after blaming Ukraine for the attack. They just don't care.
Seanambers 2y ago
I find it hard to believe that the NSA/CIA don't have the capability to uncover, insert own players and stop this.
- alephnerd 2y ago
  During Cold War 1.0, a lot of analysts and operatives were 1st and 2nd gen immigrants from Eastern Europe, and had ties and culture experience to help inform policy against the Warsaw Pact. After the 2000s, the US began increasingly limiting those with ethnic or potential familial ties from working beats related to those countries. A Chinese American wouldn't pass the security clearance muster for the China role, nor a Jewish American for an Israel role. There were attempts to potentially remediate this during the Biden admin, but it fell to the wayside [0][1] Some white dude who went to high school in White Plains and college at Tufts just isn't going to have the domain or cultural experience or knowledge needed to really understand China or Iran, and it legitimately has caused a lot of IR Policy to become divorced from reality. [0] - https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/16/state-department-diversity-problem-476161 https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/16/state-department-di... [1] - https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/18/asian-americans-state-department-477106 https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/18/asian-americans-sta...
  - neilv 2y ago
    Interesting. Do US colleges and US TV/movies provide sufficient cultural understanding of US to other countries' governments, without them needing US immigrants as staffers?
    - ianburrell 2y ago
      Also, other countries send lots of students to the US. Some become immigrants but lots go back home.
      - alephnerd 2y ago
        Also, US-Europe immigration is largely moribund, so familial and social ties to European states are much weaker now than 50 years ago. Most immigration to the US now comes from Asian and LatAm states, so a lot of us Americans prioritize those problems and needs above Europe.
breadwinner 2y ago
> It no longer represents American interests, but Russian interests Disagree. Trump is in this for himself. If he appears to represent Russian interests that's likely because he has made some kind of deal with Putin that benefits him personally. It has been reported that he has been talking to Putin before he was elected for the second term [1]. [1] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-putin-talked-many-7-2021-new-book-claims-rcna174528 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-putin-ta...
- bloomingkales 2y ago
  Everything he does is related to grift. A Ukraine-American minerals deal will probably have many layers of agencies and private contractors involved. All kinds of side dealings and under the table contracts will be exchanged where the Trump enterprise can skim off everything, like hedge fund fees. Such a deal has no place in a peace deal where thousands of people have died. Stop the war first.
- GolfPopper 2y ago
  Donald Trump - whose business "got all the funding we need out of Russia"[1] stood up in front of the press and requested the Russian government target his opponent's email... and the Russian government immediately did so.[2] There has been a great deal of circumstantial evidence since, with little to anything to rebut it. This may very well be a quid pro quo rather than naked pro-Russian partisanship, but the practical difference for the United States is negligible. 1. https://thehill.com/homenews/news/332270-eric-trump-in-2014-we-dont-rely-on-american-banks-we-have-all-the-funding-we/ https://thehill.com/homenews/news/332270-eric-trump-in-2014-... 2.https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/russia-hacked-hillary-clinton-computer-hours-after-trump-request-attorney/ar-AA1rtnRo https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/russia-hacked-hillar...
  - breadwinner 2y ago
    If there's any remaining doubt that Trump has an under-the-table deal with Putin consider this: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week ordered U.S. Cyber Command to stand down from all planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions [1]. [1] https://therecord.media/hegseth-orders-cyber-command-stand-down-russia-planning https://therecord.media/hegseth-orders-cyber-command-stand-d...
eastbound 2y ago
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vFunct 2y ago
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jmyeet 2y ago
“It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal.” -- Henry Kissinger It's too simplistic (and IMHO not accurate) to say the American government has been commpromised by Russia. Go back a few years and you'll see American politicians from all parties saying how great it was that they've crippled the Russian military without a single American soldier being deployed and killed. It's more accurate to say that foreign policy, which is bipartisan, is to loot the world. Domestic poicy is to divide up the spoils. The US never took a moral stand for Ukraine. It was always through the lens of American imperial interests. This is no different.
- fallinditch 2y ago
  As I understand it, the evidence that the US government has been compromised by Russia comes from documented instances of Russian interference and influence attempts, including election meddling and disinformation campaigns.
- rafram 2y ago
  https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/56470/did-henry-kissinger-say-it-may-be-dangerous-to-be-americas-enemy-but-to-be-am https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/56470/did-henry...
- throwawayq3423 2y ago
  > It's too simplistic (and IMHO not accurate) to say the American government has been commpromised by Russia Not the American government. Trump. They compromised the guy on top who established complete control over a party. Depressingly simple.
  - jmyeet 2y ago
    The "Trump is a Russian asset" conspiracy theory is popular in BlueAnon circles but it really doesn't fit the facts. A good example is the first Trump administration's opposition to Russian energy expansion in Europe because this would make Europe vulnerable to Russian influence. Trump opposed NordSream 2, for example. In 2018, Trump basically bullied Germany into building an LNG port [1]. Now Trump's energy policy as a whole was generally a disaster, which led up to the 2020 OPEC deal that basically caused Covid iflation but on the security of European energy, the Trump administration was correct and was proven so by the Ukraine invasion and the cutoff of Russian energy. Trump idolizes strongmen and autocrats. It doesn't matter who. Putin. Kim Jong-Un, Victor Orban. Trump backs fascist political movements like AfD, Reform (UK) and National Front (France). [1]: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/business/energy-environment/germany-liquefied-natural-gas.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/business/energy-environme...
Dig1t 2y ago
So I know this is not a popular opinion on this site but the only solution being offered by the other side seems to be the meat grinder approach. Basically continue letting both sides throw their men and (and also US taxpayer) money into the conflict until one side gives up or runs out of men. I am fundamentally anti-war. We can and should compromise on this. There’s a reason the neocons are aligned with the left on it. The military industrial complex is profiting massively, big banks are securing massive land grants to help “rebuild”, and meanwhile both countries are depopulating themselves. What happened to the left that used to be anti-war?
- 4ndrewl 2y ago
  You mean like the International Brigades? They are defending their country from an aggressor - they're supposed to roll over?
- theGnuMe 2y ago
  There’s a third solution: Russia could just stop its aggression and leave.
- pizlonator 2y ago
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  - tesrx 2y ago
    Trump is calling for peace and a ceasefire agreement. Zelensky won't agree?
    - jonathanstrange 2y ago
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      - tesrx 2y ago
        How is my statement "disgusting"? I am anti-war. I truly want peace.
adhamsalama 2y ago
I think you mean by Israel.
- neoromantique 2y ago
  Russia is Israels adversary, despite the appearances.
  - xg15 2y ago
    Israel's maybe, but not of Netanyahu and his government. He was cozying up to Putin already during the first Trump term [1] and is currently right at work doing the same again [2] to the point where they push the US to keep Russia in Syria rather than Turkey. [3] This despite Russia being closely allied with Iran. An Israel-Russia alliance makes even less sense than an US-Russia one, yet both are currently happening. [1] https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/2022-07-26/ty-article/.highlight/netanyahu-wants-to-enlist-putin-in-another-election-campaign/00000182-3bc8-d9f7-a9e6-fbfbfc520000?gift=2d49d53d9b6b41d4a9483efb649e8de6 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/2022-07-26/ty-... [2] https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-02-25/ty-article/.premium/israels-un-vote-against-ukraine-is-about-much-more-than-just-backing-trump/00000195-3db3-d852-a5df-ffbf60610000?gift=0a0e66faca5e46589f69ecf2d40a6466 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-02-25/ty-article/.p... [3] https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/2025-02-28/ty-article/israel-lobbies-u-s-to-keep-russian-bases-in-a-weak-syria-sources-say/00000195-4d48-d79a-abfd-fddf8c860000?gift=bf87bb5558ae497bbfb659588cf297f7 https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/2025-02-28/ty-artic...
danans 2y ago
Seems like they were banking on the Ukrainian president bending the knee, and that didn't happen. The greatest damage done to the US by that meeting might be the public display of POTUS's histrionic decompensation, requiring the VP to jump to his defense. It's a bad look overall, regardless of the eventual outcome for Ukraine or the US.
- lotsofpulp 2y ago
  The US wouldn’t have put Trump back in power if it cared about “overall looks”.
  - codr7 2y ago
    Perhaps they figured there are more important priorities for a US President than looking good?
    - codr7 2y ago
      I'm truly surprised anyone decides to disagree with that statement. It frightens me a bit that people think looks are more important than results. But I guess it's the world we live in.
      - exe34 2y ago
        exactly, giving Putin what he wants is more important than "looking good", whatever that means. Ukraine's only hope is that the US stays out of it now, rather than joins Russia. Europe has a losing battle on our hands now.
        codr7 2y ago
        Do you think anything that's not reported in mainstream media, or are you simply repeating what you consume? Because it looks the same to me. And the media isn't really there to inform you, it's there to make sure you think what they want you to think for whatever reasons. I would suggest at least taking a look at alternative explanations, otherwise this is just as bad as any other kind of blind faith.
alkyon 2y ago
Paid traitors are repaying their debts, hopefully they'll get what they deserve.
japananime2 2y ago
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boudin 2y ago
Destroying USAid weakend US' soft power abroad. NATO's members turning against each others in a non-sense economic war. Weakening all federal agencies meant to bring stability in society. Trump spreading bluntly the propaganda from the Kremlin. Putin couldn't have written a better scenario to get rid of his main opposition. It's quite clear that Trump is just a puppet, but there's nothing new here. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/15/kremlin-papers-appear-to-show-putins-plot-to-put-trump-in-white-house https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/15/kremlin-papers...
- rayiner 2y ago
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    - rayiner 2y ago
      You didn’t “debunk” anything. You have no understanding of the history of State Department involvement in that region over decades, and are just reflexively assuming Elon is lying.
      - dashundchen 2y ago
        Trump and Musk are lying about that grant. Show me proof of their claims that entire $29 million grant went to to that agency was spent on work in Bangledashi elections as Musk/DOGE claimed, despite no federal contract indicating that. Show me the proof that DOGE "saved" that money after the contract was almost done and money was almost entirely granted. Show me the proof that it went to an agency of two people as Trump claimed. You can't show me proof of any of those things because they are lying. You either ignorantly or willfully continue to repeat that lie, likely for partisan reasons.
        2y ago
Animats 2y ago
That seemed plausible at one time. But what could Russia have on Trump at this point that would be more than mildly embarrassing? Certainly nothing sexual. Trump had an affair with a stripper while his wife was pregnant, and that didn't bother his base. It now comes out that Trump flew on Epstein's "Lollypop Express", and nobody cares. No leverage there. On the financial conflict of interest side, Trump and his base treat that as a non-problem. Somebody shot at Trump and hit his ear, and that didn't change Trump's behavior. What could Putin do to apply pressure to Trump personally?
- deleted 2y ago
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- zimpenfish 2y ago
  > But what could Russia have on Trump at this point that would be more than mildly embarrassing? Perhaps it's more a case of "what did Russia offer Trump?" and the answer probably starts at "work to get you into power to let you loot the coffers".
- rcpt 2y ago
  Maybe it has something to do with those mishandled classified documents about Russian interference in US elections that turned up at Mar a Lago in 2021.
- __MatrixMan__ 2y ago
  If I wanted to control Trump I'd silence key members of his domestic opposition, let him get drunk on power, and then threaten to stop doing so. His ego, now inflated, probably can't handle a return trip to the real world.
- exceptione 2y ago
  Trump is a distraction. If all people here would study Trump, then nobody would have hired him for any job. He fails, and he does that spectacularly. His businesses have floundered time after time, and his ass has been saved many a times (with Russian money too, yeah, years back). Trump's image is completely fake, he is not a great deal maker. He is born rich, at best a con man. But he is valuable. That begs the question: *a) what powers do select the likes of Trump, Greene, Kennedy?* *b) For what?* I have no horse in this race, but anybody with a clear mind can see those people are mentally impaired. Re a. There is a small but powerful contingent in the USA elites that do NOT believe in democracy. The movements behind MAGA are part driven by extreme white-nationalist christians, notable Dominions, part driven by old-Nazi elites from the Interbellum and part driven by extreme crypto-/tech-dystopia crazies, that have access to enormous amounts of wealth, intelligence about people (Big tech) and "social" media. America falling into the hands of radical but powerful elites with extreme beliefs and tools was just a matter of time. Articles shared here on Hacker News have been flagged over the years. Re b. Trump, Kennedy, Greene etc are able to suck up tons of media attention. They will generate a crisis every hour without needing instructions. They are not too smart and powerful, so they will have a room in which they can operate, but they will not be able to control the tools like media themselves. But what they will do is making sure the people will get distracted by the drama of these people, whereas people should be concerned with what is happening with the democratic state. Te state is being replaced according to Plan 2025, from which you have not seen everything. Do not focus too much on Trump and Elon. They are there pursuing their own interests, they are tolerated for now, but they will be pushed from the board once their work is finished. America siding with Putin is just a tip of the ice berg of what is to come for America and the world.
emadabdulrahim 2y ago
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- amanaplanacanal 2y ago
  Unless we solve all problems, we aren't allowed to have an opinion on one problem.
  - emadabdulrahim 2y ago
    I don't think you realize that those two issues are related. https://x.com/zei_squirrel/status/1895539811576135866 https://x.com/zei_squirrel/status/1895539811576135866 But then again, most Americans seem to have no issue with AIPAC having near full control over congress. Because if they did, we'd have seen more outrage and action.
myth_drannon 2y ago
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imgabe 2y ago
No, it is for once representing American interests. Not Ukrainian interests. Not Lockheed Martin’s interest. Americans don’t want to be embroiled in endless wars. What is your alternative? Keep sending billions to Ukraine? Send American soldiers to die? What is it you would like to happen? Are you going to die for Ukraine? Are you going to send your kids to die there?
- kelnos 2y ago
  > Keep sending billions to Ukraine? Yes, absolutely. Ukraine falling to Russia represents a huge threat to the security of Europe. After Ukraine, Putin would likely take Belarus, possibly invade Poland or Finland. A weak Europe, one that is dominated by Russia, would be disastrous to the US, both abroad and at home. It is sad to me that so many Trump supporters are too short-sighted to see this. What we've spent (and could spend going forward) in Ukraine is a teeny tiny price to pay to help ensure this doesn't come to pass. America isn't about freedom anymore, it seems. It's about cozying up to dictators and appeasing them. I was disappointed in my fellow citizens after the 2016 election, but I could kinda understand what was going on. Now I'm just disgusted. > Send American soldiers to die? No, of course not, and this is such a bad-faith argument, as no one is seriously suggesting that.
  - imgabe 2y ago
    We are $36 trillion in debt and it is growing by a trillion dollars every 100 days. Continuing to send hundreds of billions to a losing war is a bigger threat to the US. The war will end. Russia will offer concessions that benefit the US. They are not going to steamroll Europe. Europe can step up and contribute to Europe’s defense.
    - amanaplanacanal 2y ago
      Russia will offer concessions that benefit the president and his friends, you mean.
    - sjsdaiuasgdia 2y ago
      People like you in 2014: "We should not push back against Russia's annexation of Crimea. It will allow the war to end. They are not going to invade Ukraine to take other territory."
naravara 2y ago
They turned a country that is orders of magnitude more powerful and prosperous into a client state mostly through tweets and facebook slop. It’s incredible, they’ll be studying it for decades.
ecommerceguy 2y ago
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- JohnBooty 2y ago
  There's much that is potentially shady about that deal, such as the Clintons receiving donations through the Clinton Foundation that were allegedly bribes for the Uranium One situation. Certainly Russian foreign investment in America, especially something sensitive like uranium, should raise eyebrows. But it's not clear there are direct or indirect ramifications for national security. Russia already has access to plenty of uranium. This was also at a time when Russia was looking like it wanted to become a peaceful member of the world community. They were not the adversary to a peaceful world that they are today. https://www.politifact.com/article/2017/oct/24/what-you-need-know-about-hillary-clinton-and-urani/ https://www.politifact.com/article/2017/oct/24/what-you-need... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium_One_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium_One_controversy
- nuancebydefault 2y ago
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- throwawayq3423 2y ago
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soerxpso 2y ago
In what way is it in my interest to give hundreds of billions of my nation's money toward fighting an unwinnable conflict on the other side of the world over which corrupt sex trafficking organization will control a small plot of land? The Cold War propaganda derangement that still exists in the minds of certain people is insane.
- bongodongobob 2y ago
  Because you want the world to trust that the US won't turn their backs on agreements especially when it involves a country giving up their nukes. Which would have helped protect them.
  - soerxpso 2y ago
    Nobody in the US voted for that agreement. I want the world to notice that they need to stop treating my people like daddy's credit card. It's a shame that the previous occupying regime hated its constituents enough to make these insane agreements to try and loot us, but we definitely don't need to stick to them now just because of that.
    - threeseed 2y ago
      You don’t vote for any policy or action. You vote for Presidents and politicians who act on your behalf.
    - nuancebydefault 2y ago
      So now just loot Ukraine, a country weakened by war. And blame their president in stead of the agressor. Oh and 'he said bad but unfortunately true things over the phone' so let's humiliate him in my only language while he's asking for help in his third language.
    - _DeadFred_ 2y ago
      Yes, in the USA we vote for representatives who then make agreements on our behalf. That we don't have direct democracy on every level does not make our process undemocratic, and does not make all of our agreements null and void. I want my people to keep their basic agreements and promises so that the rest of the world continues to trust our dollar as a reserve currency and our stock market as a safe place to invest.
TheAlchemist 2y ago
It sure looks like it. Let's ask the question - if Russia was able to compromise the US president, what action would he take ? I don't have answers very different from about what's going on right now.
- __MatrixMan__ 2y ago
  That's what I keep coming back to. If I were trying to harm American interests, what would I do differently? Nothing.
  - digitaltrees 2y ago
    Exactly this. And that is such an important intellectual tool, the ability to extrapolate second and third order decisions and match them to people’s incentives lets you create accurate mental models of multiparty negotiations and interactions and predict how people will act in future situations. It’s really powerful. Applying here, I would expect trump moves to lift sanctions and normalize trade with Russia. Europe, if it has a spine will sanction the US.
mountainmonk 2y ago
Honestly I'm glad, for a bit there it seemed like there were some idiots that thought they could win in a direct conflict against Russia and China including going nuclear. Trump was the wost possible candidate in every aspect I can think of except one, he will put his self interest above everything else and is very flexible without any ideological beliefs that supercede his self interest.
- worldsayshi 2y ago
  What is worse, risking nuclear annihilation or risking the end of democracy as a concept and fully inviting authoritarianism?
  - mountainmonk 2y ago
    Is this serious?. I think you got things mixed up a bit here I think you meant to say the opposite. The better comparison would be, would I rather have me, my kids and everyone I love die in a ball of fire or disease/hunger as society crumbles around us or risk the end of democracy and inviting authoritarianism?. I personally would always risk dictatorship, you can fight against dictators but not against death.
  - throwawayq3423 2y ago
    Allowing Russia to take a country by force: 1. Will guarantee it will do it again, guaranteeing more war. 2. Will motivate more countries to get nuclear weapons, raising the chances of a nuclear war.
- y0ssar1an 2y ago
  Appeasing nuclear bullies gets you more nuclear bullying, not less. Because of Trump's betrayal of Ukraine, the whole world knows that US security guarantees don't mean anything. These security guarantees have prevented the spread of nuclear weapons. The US has treaties with dozens of countries promising a US nuclear response if the country is nuked. Therefore, those countries have not had to develop nuclear weapons. They do now. Their trust has been completely shattered. I guarantee you that formerly non-nuclear countries like South Korea, Japan, and half of Europe are now full speed ahead on secret nuclear weapons programs. Trump has destroyed the US-led world order and we're now on a much scarier timeline. Nuclear war is more likely, not less.
_zagj 2y ago
[flagged]
- sgnelson 2y ago
  And now here we all are with the russian agents firmly entrenched in the GOP.
Timber-6539 2y ago
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- bjoli 2y ago
  Well, Russia has been interfering a lot recently. And don't you find it quaint how what Trump does aligns with Russian interests? He has already weakened diplomatic ties to all western countries, killed USAID (who is going to move in to get all that goodwill? China of course). Put doubts in people about the meaning and guarantees of NATO. And he calls Zelensky a dictator and refuses to call Putin one. Laughable. If there is no russian interference trump is even more clueless than I thought.
  - Timber-6539 2y ago
    So why did Trump invite a so-called dictator to the Oval Office? You are going to have a very long 4 years of Trump if you choose to remain willfully ignorant about what his administration is about or if you place more importance on his negotiation tactics over the results.
    - bjoli 2y ago
      Because he was expected to? To get a mineral deal and a ceasefire seemingly without any security guarantees? (Because Putin "is a man of his word") I never thought I would see the day of a president that was more gullible than Bush with his story about Putin's mother's crucifix. Edit: and getting support from Orbán is hardly something to be proud of.
      - Timber-6539 2y ago
        Zelensky lost big yesterday. The minerals deal was supposed to solidify a security guarantee from Uncle Sam. He bet on the wrong horse i.e Europe. Ukraine is facing assured destruction now if Zelensky continues on the foolish path of drumming up support for more war against the insurmountable Bear. I respect Trump a lot more for having the fortitude to push for a peace negotiation, maybe we'll even be talking about a Nobel prize sometime next year.
worldsayshi 2y ago
A somewhat adjacent interpretation is that he doesn't care about democracy. And so why would he care if Ukraine got invaded. He wants to be a king or emperor or whatever. If Putin takes Ukraine the idea of kings being back gets more normalized.
sigmarule 2y ago
I'm always cautious about saying something like this for fear of sounding hyperbolic. But good lord, watching this video right after reading about the administration's change in stance on Russian cyber threats [1] really chips away at any remaining room for ambiguity. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/28/trump-russia-hacking-cyber-security https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/28/trump-russia...
- PathOfEclipse 2y ago
  You should continue to be cautious, as the Guardian article is pretty weak. It's first point is that Russia wasn't mentioned in a talk about cyber threats, which means very little by itself. It's second and final point comes from an "anonymous source". I'll believe it when the source becomes de-anonymized. Too many deep state "anonymous tips" have turned out to be lies. It should be noted that CISA has a history of strong leftwing activism: https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-cybersecurity-defense-agency-immediately-worked-to-discredit-hunter-biden-laptop-story-legal-group-says https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-cybersecurity-defense-age... https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-colluded-with-big-tech-to-censor-americans-house-lawmakers-report-says https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-colluded... Trump is not far right and never has been. He's actually moderate on most issues. The current far right position is the Tucker Carlson "isolation at all costs" and "Putin maybe isn't a bad guy" garbage. Trump holds neither of those views.
  - sigmarule 2y ago
    If it turns out that CISA analysts were truly told verbally to no longer focus or report on Russian threats, and if you assume this was done under Trump's direction or to align with his intent, would would your thoughts be? I'm not (yet) asserting that either of those two conditions are or aren't true, I'm just curious what your thoughts would be IF they were.
    - PathOfEclipse 2y ago
      It's a good question, and, in the worst case, I would disagree with the Trump administration and lose some trust in them. There is also the possibility that missing context would provide reasonable justification for the order. For instance, I think "Russian election interference" investigations have mostly been a partisan operation with little evidence that such interference has had any meaningful impact on U.S. elections. These investigations are mostly used to make the political right side look bad by tying them to Putin. It would be reasonable for the Trump admin to defund these investigations as we have much greater problems to be worried about.
submeta 2y ago
Actually it has been compromised by Israel, by AIPAC, acting against American interests, creating negative sentiments against Americans across the Middle East and even globally just to support a messianic far right government in Israel.
casperc 2y ago
I might also mention elections being compromised. It is another clear target for Russia with an extremely high payoff. Feel certain they have not managed to hack the election?
brightball 2y ago
[flagged]
- thinkingtoilet 2y ago
  This is a summery by a right-wing influencer who clearly has a massive bias. Do with that information what you will.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- nickpeterson 2y ago
  I think this take only makes sense if there is no such thing as morally or justice. If we were just discussing a business deal, fine, but Ukrainians are being killed and told to be nicer to the killer’s leader. It’s an insane position.
- nuancebydefault 2y ago
  >> All Zelensky had to do was remain calm for a few more minutes and they would've signed a deal. The deal was: give the resources so we give money. And btw just hand over the land to Putin. Glad he did not sign.
- DoingIsLearning 2y ago
  > best summary From the author of "The origins of Woke", without aiming for ad hominem that sounds like a rather biased source from my European perspective. I would prefer to watch the whole press conference and make my own conclusions.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
macinjosh 2y ago
This concept is so disingenuous. The earth is is big enough for Russian, China, and the US to coexist in peace. My country's spending should be spent in my country. Not liberating a land that has nothing to do with us.
- tootie 2y ago
  That's incredibly sanguine. Russia has been annexing territory and this was a gambit to take a huge chunk by force. If they had rolled over Ukraine in weeks as many predicted they'd have pointed their guns at Belarus and Georgia and all the former satellites. Acquiescing is what we did to Hitler when he wanted the Sudetenland and he was not appeased by it. I'd also cite John Donne and say "no man is an island". Our "country" exists as an arbitrary artifact of history. If you are capable of caring about people you don't know then it shouldn't matter if they're from another state or another country.
  - throwawayq3423 2y ago
    Some countries conduct the exactly amount of war they are capable of doing, kill as many people as they have the capacity to do, until they are stopped. Russia is one of those countries.
- anigbrowl 2y ago
  A plane can take you or your cargo to the other side of the world in a day, missiles can go much faster than that, and communications are instantaneous. The world is still a big place but it's naive to ignore the facts of technological interconnectedness.
munchler 2y ago
I don’t think Trump has the sophistication to be a Russian agent. The sad truth is just that he’s wannabe dictator who admires Putin as a role model. Russia is as surprised at their luck as anyone else.
- llamaimperative 2y ago
  "Russian agent" != trusted collaborator. It means they can use you. He's perfectly predictable/controllable using just flattery and greed, which petro terrorist states like Russia can utilize quite generously.
  - munchler 2y ago
    Sure. All I’m saying is that Russia doesn’t need kompromat or some other illicit leverage over Trump. It’s all happening in the open.
- luxuryballs 2y ago
  Trump is an open book, he says he wants the killing to stop and to save money, but saving lives is more important. Many people also believe this, and that failed negotiations and bad relations between NATO and Russia lead to this. It’s not pro-Russian to want a conflict to end, it’s terrible to think that not wanting people to continue to die is considered bad if it happens to include people of a specific nation who have little control over their leadership currently.
  - UncleOxidant 2y ago
    Zelensky would really like this war to end (he said so in the meeting), but he also realizes that Putin can't be trusted - give him an inch and he'll take a mile. The kind of "peace" that Trump wants is the "peace in our times" of Chamberlain or the "peace" of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact - the kind of "peace" that ultimately leads to more war.
  - throwawayq3423 2y ago
    > Trump is an open book, he says he wants the killing to stop. Then he should put pressure on Russia to leave Ukraine. Anything short of that guarantees the killing will continue.
rowanseymour 2y ago
Your government is certainly compromised but is it Russia? A lobby group for a certain settler colony in the Middle East spent money on 80% of the seats up for election last year, and boasts of its ability to interfere with US elections. Jeffrey Epstein was linked with the intelligence services of that colony and who knows what he had on Trump and other top US politicians.
yieldcrv 2y ago
All Putin has to do is not try to recreate the soviet union and the spice will flow Obviously he has a history of doing these prideful things just to remind people he has chips to play. But if he literally just didnt, there is upside for unprecedented economic development
- throwawayq3423 2y ago
  He's obsessed with the idea that Russia is vulnerable to invasion via Ukraine and eastern Europe, which is why imperial conquest of those areas is a non-negotiable. The question he can't answer is why the hell anyone would want to invade Russia in 2025 the way Napoleon or the Nazis did. They have nothing of value.
UncleOxidant 2y ago
As an American I've never been more ashamed of the leadership of my country. And really just ashamed of my country. Ashamed to be an American at this point in history. Zelensky has shown more bravery than Trump or Vance are even capable of and they decided to ambush and lecture him like that. Absolutely disgusting.
- marcusverus 2y ago
  You're more embarrassed by Trump tactlessly trying to end the war in Ukraine than you are about anything in living memory? Is this a serious comment?
  - throwawayq3423 2y ago
    > You're more embarrassed by Trump tactlessly trying to end the war in Ukraine The fastest way to end a war is to lose it. A conditional surrender of Ukraine based on all Russian demands is not peace deal, to state the obvious. It is in fact a guarantee this war will continue, which is what Ukraine is seeking to avoid.
crystal_revenge 2y ago
Honestly I think this is a bad take and I'm not exactly what one would call a "supporter" of the current administration. Americans get too wrapped up in the propaganda around Ukraine to even start to understand it. If your understanding of what's going on starts in 2022 and not, at least, back to 2014, then you're not really understanding what's going on. The conflict in Ukraine has, since the 2010s, has been about fossil fuels and other mineral rights. Around that time oil and natural gas sources were found in all the regions currently being fought over. Ukraine, sadly, will always just be a pawn for the other major players. What we're seeing here is not "Russian interests being prioritized over American interests". This war has never been about what's good for the American people nor the Ukrainian people, but the companies that stand to benefit from extraction rights (Democrats as well as Republicans get their directions from billionaires, despite the song and dance to convince you otherwise). The prior administration had fairly strong support from and for European parties that wanted to partake of these resources. The change is really away from support for Europe in favor of two things: better relations with Russia, and more importantly, ending this thing. The "ending this thing" is not because of desires for peace, but because as long as there are bombs being dropped in this region nobody can extract anything from anywhere. People upset about this situation are living in a world that doesn't exist anymore. We're in the end game of industrial civilization and the rules have changed. The future is no longer infinitely bright and very soon the global economy will start to contract. Additionally we'll be seeing climate catastrophe ramp up dramatically in coming years. As the Arctic melts, Canada and Russia will effectively share a border (making Trump's other "crazy" idea, less "crazy"). Europe, once our obvious ally, will have increasingly less to offer the US in the coming decades. Europe, largely lacking in fossil resources, is going to increasingly find itself a minor player in global politics. The realpolitik of today is major oil producing nations realizing that conflict with each other will, at this phase of the game, do more harm then forming alliances.
dboreham 2y ago
At least we know there's no deep state.
luxuryballs 2y ago
> The American government has been compromised by Russia. It no longer represents American interests, but Russian interests. What kind of conspiracy theory is this? It makes no sense, at least have believable ones if you’re going to promote them.
- marcusverus 2y ago
  Blueanon is so hot right now.
- throwawayq3423 2y ago
  If Trump was taking direct orders from Putin, what would he be doing differently? Just the fact that something is fantastical and hard to believe on the surface does not make it untrue.
  - luxuryballs 2y ago
    this is not a Trump problem, with instant global communication no leaders can be trusted by your logic, it’s not unreasonable to think that Biden took power and allowed Putin and Blackrock to each carve a piece of Ukraine off for themselves and Zelensky is a puppet of these corrupt grifters, that looks far more likely than Putin giving orders to Trump, especially with all the Burisma/Hunter emails and money trail, and considering Biden not only allowed it to happen but funded much of the destruction too, follow the money
    - throwawayq3423 2y ago
      None of your claims are sourced and appear on the surface to be conspiracy theory / both sideism designed to distract from what Trump is doing. > Burisma/Hunter emails For example, you appear to be hinting towards the Russian disinfo that Biden was involved in a corrupt deal in Ukraine. That is false. The main source of this claim was arrested for lying about it. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68313086 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68313086 I'll try again with my question, if Trump was taking direct orders from Putin, what would he be doing differently?
bedhead 2y ago
This is so stupid.
colordrops 2y ago
Lots of words spilled in this thread about how the American government is now all of a sudden compromised but almost nothing as the US subserviently sent billions in weapons and aid to Israel to commit genocide for more than a year now. Most Americans are extreme hypocrites with blinders on. This country has been compromised by Israel for far longer, and in a much worse way.
fny 2y ago
What happened was incredibly bad diplomacy, but this take is frankly hysterical. The Trump administration believes cozying up to Russia will draw them away from China. The Trump administration also believes relieving sanctions will cause commodity prices to drop. And they are willing to throw Ukraine under the bus for those privileges along with some minerals. This is undeniably good for the American economy, but at a moral price.
throwawayforare 2y ago
I'm seriously considering leaving the U.S. I can't justify paying taxes to a government that leaves me feeling disheartened. The EU should have visa programs for skilled professionals looking to leave the U.S.
- SteveNuts 2y ago
  Frustrating that the US will still apply income tax even if you're working abroad (I want to say over $130k/yr, but that could be wrong)
  - jemmyw 2y ago
    It does but most western countries have a double-tax agreement with the US so you won't end up paying any tax to the US
- jemmyw 2y ago
  The following EU countries offer skilled worker visas: Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Portugal, Denmark. Also non-EU places such as Aus and NZ.
- FirmwareBurner 2y ago
  > The EU should have visa programs for skilled professionals looking to leave the U.S. We don't have a skilled worker shortage in EU right now, we have a skilled jobs shortage. All white collar skilled job ads are flooded with local applicants, we don't need more immigrants to water down wages and push up rents. My (f500 company) company just laid off 70 SW & HW engineers at one office while I've been part of the layoffs before. The real shortages are in healthcare, and tough jobs people don't like to do for little money, like construction or elderly care, but there's enough Europeans willing to work cushy office jobs there's no need to import foreign competition other than to appease the corporate pushed propaganda.
  - Panoramix 2y ago
    Yeah but we could use a whole bunch of tech companies. There should be a visa program for entrepreneurs. That should be always the case but especially now.
thuridas 2y ago
I am starting to believe the theory that Trump was a Russian agent
yaksha 2y ago
How is it not in American interest to stop wasting money on a proxy war? Yes, Russia should not have invaded Ukraine, but they did and they have basically won. If news reports are at all accurate, our military isn't as great as we think (our of resources to send to Ukraine, poor ability to resupply quickly) it is and the theater of war has changed to be more drone focused than ever before. Why have there been next to no peace talks since the beginning of the war? How much more money will we spend on another quagmire of intervention? There are plenty of issues here at home that need more attention and money than this proxy war. Like our unsustainable debt.
elcritch 2y ago
> America is experiencing a decapitation strike, and our military is not defending us from these domestic enemies. There we go, democracy is fine until it goes against the "liberal" zeitgeist. It's not really liberalism just like "far right" now seems to be regularly slapped onto viewpoints which were considered normal or even centrist a decade or two ago. It dilutes any chance of actual conversation between right and left. Though yes the US military, rather state department, does openly fund political manipulation abroad via USAID. It's not humanitarian aid, or rather, the humanitarian aid is a side effect at best, as even liberal publications recognize [2, 3]. However like the OP here, there's increasing trends toward using USAID programs to "protect" America from stupid Americans who begin to "wrong-think" about things. The UK has a similar problem where public funding is used to influence politics where it's easy to see the absurdity [1]. I'm sorry but a few bots on X don't compromise Americans and make them some sort of far right extremists any more than me reading Lord of the Rings or 1984 does. We do need to protect ourselves from actual sabotage, bribery, etc but not use it as an excuse for blanket manipulation. Yeah, that should be an absolute no on even considering it. The US military and state department apparatus does not have a role in deciding what Americans should believe. 1: https://europeanconservative.com/articles/commentary/right-wing-radicalization-may-begin-by-reading-j-r-r-tolkien-and-c-s-lewis/ https://europeanconservative.com/articles/commentary/right-w... 2: https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/usaid-trump-musk-history-controversies/ https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/usaid-trump-musk-... 3: https://www.wakeuptopolitics.com/p/foreign-aid-is-unpopular https://www.wakeuptopolitics.com/p/foreign-aid-is-unpopular
- throwawayq3423 2y ago
  > Though yes the US military, rather state department, does openly fund political manipulation abroad via USAID. It's not humanitarian aid, or rather, the humanitarian aid is a side effect at best. You betray how much you hate democracy when you refer to efforts to strengthen the ability to conduct free and fair elections at home and aboard as "liberal activism".
develop7 2y ago
Sure, but what are you going to do about that? (edit: formatting)

logicchains 2y ago

[flagged]

OfficeChad 2y ago
[dead]
lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 2y ago
> It represents the interests of the American people who voted for Trump It really doesn't and they'll come to feel it even if they don't recognize it.
- logicchains 2y ago
  Please elaborate how sending hundreds of billions of dollars to Ukraine is in the interests of the average Trump voter.
  - ceejayoz 2y ago
    We don't actually really do that. The majority of the "funds" pay for products like shells and missiles made by American labor (which encompasses quite a few Trump voters!) in America with American parts and American steel and American know-how. We're donating no-longer-used Bradleys, F-16s, Javelins that are reaching (sometimes past!) their expiration date, etc. https://www.csis.org/analysis/what-ukraine-aid-package-and-what-does-it-mean-future-war https://www.csis.org/analysis/what-ukraine-aid-package-and-w... > The notion of “aid to Ukraine” is a misnomer. Despite images of “pallets of cash” being sent to Ukraine, about 72 percent of this money overall and 86 percent of the military aid will be spent in the United States. The reason for this high percentage is that weapons going to Ukraine are produced in U.S. factories, payments to U.S. service members are mostly spent in the United States, and even some piece of the humanitarian aid is spent in the United States. (As a bonus, we're getting to try out all our stuff against Russia's best, in a way we've never really gotten to. It's an incredible ad for American defense contractors.) If you'd told the old Cold Warriors that a small fraction of a single year's military budget could turn the Russian military into a shadow of its original, they would not have believed you.
  - sph 2y ago
    Did you guys already forget 9/11 and invoking Article 5 of the NATO agreement for an issue on your soil? Please elaborate how starting a war in Afghanistan was in Europe's interests. In fact, it was the USA that had created Bin Laden in the first place. All I hear from MAGA is hypocrisy and revisionism.
- ffsm8 2y ago
  It's hilarious how some people actually believe Trump's lies that Ukraines support is actually freely given/a donation. In reality, the support is literally the US selling the old garbage military equipment to the Ukraine for debt. You know, the stuff that the actual US military considers too old to actually use anymore. Especially ironic in the context of Ukraines treaty with the US, which is why they dont have any nukes anymore. Which was most likely the reason why Russia finally felt comfortable invading them in 2014 and now.
  - sertraline 2y ago
    >selling the old garbage EU does the same.
    - ffsm8 2y ago
      Despite that being a lie... If it weren't, I'm not sure how that's relevant? The EU isn't demanding that the Ukraine becomes an effective colony to be exploited at will by thenn for dubious claims of a solution. Neither did it have the treaty. Both of which were the things that made it ironic.

rayiner 2y ago

[flagged]

WitCanStain 2y ago
Risking American lives? How many Americans have died in the war as a result of US aid?
- rayiner 2y ago
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nine_zeros 2y ago
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- ziddoap 2y ago
  >It takes a little more comprehension skills to understand words. I understand if you didn't get that comprehensive education. I vehemently disagree with rayiner, often, but you personally attacking them only serves to weaken your position.
  - nine_zeros 2y ago
    > I vehemently disagree with rayiner, often, but you personally attacking them only serves to weaken your position. Glad you see the reality. I don't care about my position but only the reality.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
- rayiner 2y ago
  You think Russia is going to nuke America if Ukraine loses the war?

nico 2y ago

> It no longer represents American interests, but Russian interests And Israeli interests And that’s across pretty much all branches of governments and administrations, for quite some time now American people’s needs be damned

deleted 2y ago
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rayiner 2y ago
How does it matter to the “needs” of the american people what happens to Ukraine one way or the other?
- JohnBooty 2y ago
  If you don't understand why stability in Europe matters to America, you might want to read about World War II. It had a rather pronounced affect on America. Some other countries too, I think.
  - alephnerd 2y ago
    I support Atlanticism, but this overestimates the US's need and relations with Europe (EU and non-EU) in the 21st century. Our trade with APAC dwarfs total European trade, and America has ~150k armed personnel deployed in the Pacific versus ~65k in Europe. Europe can and should be able to manage Russia and Africa for us - this is what they did well until the 2000s. Both Dem and Republican admins since the Bush admin have been pushing for Europe to regain it's strategic autonomy. Trump is absolutely mismanaging this relationship, but a broken clock is right twice a day.
    - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
      > this overestimates the US's need and relations with Europe (EU and non-EU) in the 21st century If Europe goes to war America is in a higher state of defcon even if we try to pretend we’re uninvolved. Global trade would crash which means a lot of middle class jobs vanishing.

outside2344 2y ago

Or whatever interests have compromised or bribed the administration

lostlogin 2y ago
Surely that points towards Russia? What are you suggesting?
- SauciestGNU 2y ago
  I read that as currently but not solely or always Russia.
- hightrix 2y ago
  I assume the insinuation is of Musk buying the presidency.
  - threeseed 2y ago
    Which he unquestionably has. Look at what is happening with FAA and Verizon.
- cmrdporcupine 2y ago
  Consider there are interests in common between sectors in Russia and the USA that are not at the state level, but private capital. In particular, both nations are energy exporters. And the political class in Russia is explicitly a petro-regime. There's no need to go looking for conspiracy theories around Trump being "compromised." He's behaving just like any wealthy person with ties to the energy sector would, should they seize state power. They are acting in the interests of the oil industry, both of them. Capitalism doesn't really have borders. Borders are for chumps like you and I.

mistercheph 2y ago

[flagged]

huang_chung 2y ago

[flagged]

Chance-Device 2y ago

Russia seems to own the far right mindspace to a large degree, and I’m sure they’ve spent a large amount of resources for many years shaping those perspectives and narratives to suit themselves. I also suspect that Russia has been causing the very problems that the far right reacts against, most notably immigration. Remember wirecard? Germany’s fintech darling, which was run by Jan Marsalek, who turned out to be a Russian spy? What was one of the things they were doing? Funding people smuggling into Europe. To strengthen the right that Russia owns. https://www.rferl.org/amp/russia-wirecard-marsalek-spy/32844424.html https://www.rferl.org/amp/russia-wirecard-marsalek-spy/32844... They’ve been directly disrupting the west while controlling those who offer the “solution”.

waihtis 2y ago
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deleted 2y ago
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onlyrealcuzzo 2y ago
Checks out - Russia is the country you end up with when you have the far right's ideology.
- spwa4 2y ago
  I don't understand why the focus on one side? Russia was caught financing extreme-left parties, religious parties (including hamas, isis and hezbollah), conservative parties (moderate and extreme), rebels, terrorists ... Certainly seems Russia has no ideology they care about beyond "sabotage states", with some priority on western states, but certainly not just western states. They fund political parties in ex-Yugoslavia that are LITERALLY at each other's throats (with knives and guns, not with protests and shouting). They're sowing chaos wherever they can, however they can. Priority seems to be on the UK, Brussels/EU and the US, but it's not like they're not doing it in places like Rwanda as well. Whether that means supporting extreme-left, extreme right, or just whoever is willing to turn guns on the police or some ethnic group they hate, Russia/Putin just doesn't care. Hell, daesh/isis got funding from Russia, killed 145 Russians in Moscow ... and Russia funded them again, after blaming Ukraine for the attack. They just don't care.

Seanambers 2y ago

I find it hard to believe that the NSA/CIA don't have the capability to uncover, insert own players and stop this.

alephnerd 2y ago
During Cold War 1.0, a lot of analysts and operatives were 1st and 2nd gen immigrants from Eastern Europe, and had ties and culture experience to help inform policy against the Warsaw Pact. After the 2000s, the US began increasingly limiting those with ethnic or potential familial ties from working beats related to those countries. A Chinese American wouldn't pass the security clearance muster for the China role, nor a Jewish American for an Israel role. There were attempts to potentially remediate this during the Biden admin, but it fell to the wayside [0][1] Some white dude who went to high school in White Plains and college at Tufts just isn't going to have the domain or cultural experience or knowledge needed to really understand China or Iran, and it legitimately has caused a lot of IR Policy to become divorced from reality. [0] - https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/16/state-department-diversity-problem-476161 https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/16/state-department-di... [1] - https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/18/asian-americans-state-department-477106 https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/18/asian-americans-sta...
- neilv 2y ago
  Interesting. Do US colleges and US TV/movies provide sufficient cultural understanding of US to other countries' governments, without them needing US immigrants as staffers?
  - ianburrell 2y ago
    Also, other countries send lots of students to the US. Some become immigrants but lots go back home.
    - alephnerd 2y ago
      Also, US-Europe immigration is largely moribund, so familial and social ties to European states are much weaker now than 50 years ago. Most immigration to the US now comes from Asian and LatAm states, so a lot of us Americans prioritize those problems and needs above Europe.

breadwinner 2y ago

> It no longer represents American interests, but Russian interests Disagree. Trump is in this for himself. If he appears to represent Russian interests that's likely because he has made some kind of deal with Putin that benefits him personally. It has been reported that he has been talking to Putin before he was elected for the second term [1]. [1] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-putin-talked-many-7-2021-new-book-claims-rcna174528 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-putin-ta...

bloomingkales 2y ago
Everything he does is related to grift. A Ukraine-American minerals deal will probably have many layers of agencies and private contractors involved. All kinds of side dealings and under the table contracts will be exchanged where the Trump enterprise can skim off everything, like hedge fund fees. Such a deal has no place in a peace deal where thousands of people have died. Stop the war first.
GolfPopper 2y ago
Donald Trump - whose business "got all the funding we need out of Russia"[1] stood up in front of the press and requested the Russian government target his opponent's email... and the Russian government immediately did so.[2] There has been a great deal of circumstantial evidence since, with little to anything to rebut it. This may very well be a quid pro quo rather than naked pro-Russian partisanship, but the practical difference for the United States is negligible. 1. https://thehill.com/homenews/news/332270-eric-trump-in-2014-we-dont-rely-on-american-banks-we-have-all-the-funding-we/ https://thehill.com/homenews/news/332270-eric-trump-in-2014-... 2.https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/russia-hacked-hillary-clinton-computer-hours-after-trump-request-attorney/ar-AA1rtnRo https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/russia-hacked-hillar...
- breadwinner 2y ago
  If there's any remaining doubt that Trump has an under-the-table deal with Putin consider this: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week ordered U.S. Cyber Command to stand down from all planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions [1]. [1] https://therecord.media/hegseth-orders-cyber-command-stand-down-russia-planning https://therecord.media/hegseth-orders-cyber-command-stand-d...

eastbound 2y ago

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vFunct 2y ago

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jmyeet 2y ago

“It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal.” -- Henry Kissinger It's too simplistic (and IMHO not accurate) to say the American government has been commpromised by Russia. Go back a few years and you'll see American politicians from all parties saying how great it was that they've crippled the Russian military without a single American soldier being deployed and killed. It's more accurate to say that foreign policy, which is bipartisan, is to loot the world. Domestic poicy is to divide up the spoils. The US never took a moral stand for Ukraine. It was always through the lens of American imperial interests. This is no different.

fallinditch 2y ago
As I understand it, the evidence that the US government has been compromised by Russia comes from documented instances of Russian interference and influence attempts, including election meddling and disinformation campaigns.
rafram 2y ago
https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/56470/did-henry-kissinger-say-it-may-be-dangerous-to-be-americas-enemy-but-to-be-am https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/56470/did-henry...
throwawayq3423 2y ago
> It's too simplistic (and IMHO not accurate) to say the American government has been commpromised by Russia Not the American government. Trump. They compromised the guy on top who established complete control over a party. Depressingly simple.
- jmyeet 2y ago
  The "Trump is a Russian asset" conspiracy theory is popular in BlueAnon circles but it really doesn't fit the facts. A good example is the first Trump administration's opposition to Russian energy expansion in Europe because this would make Europe vulnerable to Russian influence. Trump opposed NordSream 2, for example. In 2018, Trump basically bullied Germany into building an LNG port [1]. Now Trump's energy policy as a whole was generally a disaster, which led up to the 2020 OPEC deal that basically caused Covid iflation but on the security of European energy, the Trump administration was correct and was proven so by the Ukraine invasion and the cutoff of Russian energy. Trump idolizes strongmen and autocrats. It doesn't matter who. Putin. Kim Jong-Un, Victor Orban. Trump backs fascist political movements like AfD, Reform (UK) and National Front (France). [1]: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/business/energy-environment/germany-liquefied-natural-gas.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/business/energy-environme...

Dig1t 2y ago

So I know this is not a popular opinion on this site but the only solution being offered by the other side seems to be the meat grinder approach. Basically continue letting both sides throw their men and (and also US taxpayer) money into the conflict until one side gives up or runs out of men. I am fundamentally anti-war. We can and should compromise on this. There’s a reason the neocons are aligned with the left on it. The military industrial complex is profiting massively, big banks are securing massive land grants to help “rebuild”, and meanwhile both countries are depopulating themselves. What happened to the left that used to be anti-war?

4ndrewl 2y ago
You mean like the International Brigades? They are defending their country from an aggressor - they're supposed to roll over?
theGnuMe 2y ago
There’s a third solution: Russia could just stop its aggression and leave.
pizlonator 2y ago
[flagged]
- tesrx 2y ago
  Trump is calling for peace and a ceasefire agreement. Zelensky won't agree?
  - jonathanstrange 2y ago
    [flagged]
    - tesrx 2y ago
      How is my statement "disgusting"? I am anti-war. I truly want peace.

adhamsalama 2y ago

I think you mean by Israel.

neoromantique 2y ago
Russia is Israels adversary, despite the appearances.
- xg15 2y ago
  Israel's maybe, but not of Netanyahu and his government. He was cozying up to Putin already during the first Trump term [1] and is currently right at work doing the same again [2] to the point where they push the US to keep Russia in Syria rather than Turkey. [3] This despite Russia being closely allied with Iran. An Israel-Russia alliance makes even less sense than an US-Russia one, yet both are currently happening. [1] https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/2022-07-26/ty-article/.highlight/netanyahu-wants-to-enlist-putin-in-another-election-campaign/00000182-3bc8-d9f7-a9e6-fbfbfc520000?gift=2d49d53d9b6b41d4a9483efb649e8de6 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/2022-07-26/ty-... [2] https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-02-25/ty-article/.premium/israels-un-vote-against-ukraine-is-about-much-more-than-just-backing-trump/00000195-3db3-d852-a5df-ffbf60610000?gift=0a0e66faca5e46589f69ecf2d40a6466 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-02-25/ty-article/.p... [3] https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/2025-02-28/ty-article/israel-lobbies-u-s-to-keep-russian-bases-in-a-weak-syria-sources-say/00000195-4d48-d79a-abfd-fddf8c860000?gift=bf87bb5558ae497bbfb659588cf297f7 https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/2025-02-28/ty-artic...

danans 2y ago

Seems like they were banking on the Ukrainian president bending the knee, and that didn't happen. The greatest damage done to the US by that meeting might be the public display of POTUS's histrionic decompensation, requiring the VP to jump to his defense. It's a bad look overall, regardless of the eventual outcome for Ukraine or the US.

lotsofpulp 2y ago
The US wouldn’t have put Trump back in power if it cared about “overall looks”.
- codr7 2y ago
  Perhaps they figured there are more important priorities for a US President than looking good?
  - codr7 2y ago
    I'm truly surprised anyone decides to disagree with that statement. It frightens me a bit that people think looks are more important than results. But I guess it's the world we live in.
    - exe34 2y ago
      exactly, giving Putin what he wants is more important than "looking good", whatever that means. Ukraine's only hope is that the US stays out of it now, rather than joins Russia. Europe has a losing battle on our hands now.
      - codr7 2y ago
        Do you think anything that's not reported in mainstream media, or are you simply repeating what you consume? Because it looks the same to me. And the media isn't really there to inform you, it's there to make sure you think what they want you to think for whatever reasons. I would suggest at least taking a look at alternative explanations, otherwise this is just as bad as any other kind of blind faith.

alkyon 2y ago

Paid traitors are repaying their debts, hopefully they'll get what they deserve.

japananime2 2y ago

[dead]

boudin 2y ago

Destroying USAid weakend US' soft power abroad. NATO's members turning against each others in a non-sense economic war. Weakening all federal agencies meant to bring stability in society. Trump spreading bluntly the propaganda from the Kremlin. Putin couldn't have written a better scenario to get rid of his main opposition. It's quite clear that Trump is just a puppet, but there's nothing new here. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/15/kremlin-papers-appear-to-show-putins-plot-to-put-trump-in-white-house https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/15/kremlin-papers...

rayiner 2y ago
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- dashundchen 2y ago
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  - rayiner 2y ago
    You didn’t “debunk” anything. You have no understanding of the history of State Department involvement in that region over decades, and are just reflexively assuming Elon is lying.
    - dashundchen 2y ago
      Trump and Musk are lying about that grant. Show me proof of their claims that entire $29 million grant went to to that agency was spent on work in Bangledashi elections as Musk/DOGE claimed, despite no federal contract indicating that. Show me the proof that DOGE "saved" that money after the contract was almost done and money was almost entirely granted. Show me the proof that it went to an agency of two people as Trump claimed. You can't show me proof of any of those things because they are lying. You either ignorantly or willfully continue to repeat that lie, likely for partisan reasons.
      - 2y ago

Animats 2y ago

That seemed plausible at one time. But what could Russia have on Trump at this point that would be more than mildly embarrassing? Certainly nothing sexual. Trump had an affair with a stripper while his wife was pregnant, and that didn't bother his base. It now comes out that Trump flew on Epstein's "Lollypop Express", and nobody cares. No leverage there. On the financial conflict of interest side, Trump and his base treat that as a non-problem. Somebody shot at Trump and hit his ear, and that didn't change Trump's behavior. What could Putin do to apply pressure to Trump personally?

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
zimpenfish 2y ago
> But what could Russia have on Trump at this point that would be more than mildly embarrassing? Perhaps it's more a case of "what did Russia offer Trump?" and the answer probably starts at "work to get you into power to let you loot the coffers".
rcpt 2y ago
Maybe it has something to do with those mishandled classified documents about Russian interference in US elections that turned up at Mar a Lago in 2021.
__MatrixMan__ 2y ago
If I wanted to control Trump I'd silence key members of his domestic opposition, let him get drunk on power, and then threaten to stop doing so. His ego, now inflated, probably can't handle a return trip to the real world.
exceptione 2y ago
Trump is a distraction. If all people here would study Trump, then nobody would have hired him for any job. He fails, and he does that spectacularly. His businesses have floundered time after time, and his ass has been saved many a times (with Russian money too, yeah, years back). Trump's image is completely fake, he is not a great deal maker. He is born rich, at best a con man. But he is valuable. That begs the question: *a) what powers do select the likes of Trump, Greene, Kennedy?* *b) For what?* I have no horse in this race, but anybody with a clear mind can see those people are mentally impaired. Re a. There is a small but powerful contingent in the USA elites that do NOT believe in democracy. The movements behind MAGA are part driven by extreme white-nationalist christians, notable Dominions, part driven by old-Nazi elites from the Interbellum and part driven by extreme crypto-/tech-dystopia crazies, that have access to enormous amounts of wealth, intelligence about people (Big tech) and "social" media. America falling into the hands of radical but powerful elites with extreme beliefs and tools was just a matter of time. Articles shared here on Hacker News have been flagged over the years. Re b. Trump, Kennedy, Greene etc are able to suck up tons of media attention. They will generate a crisis every hour without needing instructions. They are not too smart and powerful, so they will have a room in which they can operate, but they will not be able to control the tools like media themselves. But what they will do is making sure the people will get distracted by the drama of these people, whereas people should be concerned with what is happening with the democratic state. Te state is being replaced according to Plan 2025, from which you have not seen everything. Do not focus too much on Trump and Elon. They are there pursuing their own interests, they are tolerated for now, but they will be pushed from the board once their work is finished. America siding with Putin is just a tip of the ice berg of what is to come for America and the world.

emadabdulrahim 2y ago

[flagged]

amanaplanacanal 2y ago
Unless we solve all problems, we aren't allowed to have an opinion on one problem.
- emadabdulrahim 2y ago
  I don't think you realize that those two issues are related. https://x.com/zei_squirrel/status/1895539811576135866 https://x.com/zei_squirrel/status/1895539811576135866 But then again, most Americans seem to have no issue with AIPAC having near full control over congress. Because if they did, we'd have seen more outrage and action.

myth_drannon 2y ago

[flagged]

imgabe 2y ago

No, it is for once representing American interests. Not Ukrainian interests. Not Lockheed Martin’s interest. Americans don’t want to be embroiled in endless wars. What is your alternative? Keep sending billions to Ukraine? Send American soldiers to die? What is it you would like to happen? Are you going to die for Ukraine? Are you going to send your kids to die there?

kelnos 2y ago
> Keep sending billions to Ukraine? Yes, absolutely. Ukraine falling to Russia represents a huge threat to the security of Europe. After Ukraine, Putin would likely take Belarus, possibly invade Poland or Finland. A weak Europe, one that is dominated by Russia, would be disastrous to the US, both abroad and at home. It is sad to me that so many Trump supporters are too short-sighted to see this. What we've spent (and could spend going forward) in Ukraine is a teeny tiny price to pay to help ensure this doesn't come to pass. America isn't about freedom anymore, it seems. It's about cozying up to dictators and appeasing them. I was disappointed in my fellow citizens after the 2016 election, but I could kinda understand what was going on. Now I'm just disgusted. > Send American soldiers to die? No, of course not, and this is such a bad-faith argument, as no one is seriously suggesting that.
- imgabe 2y ago
  We are $36 trillion in debt and it is growing by a trillion dollars every 100 days. Continuing to send hundreds of billions to a losing war is a bigger threat to the US. The war will end. Russia will offer concessions that benefit the US. They are not going to steamroll Europe. Europe can step up and contribute to Europe’s defense.
  - amanaplanacanal 2y ago
    Russia will offer concessions that benefit the president and his friends, you mean.
  - sjsdaiuasgdia 2y ago
    People like you in 2014: "We should not push back against Russia's annexation of Crimea. It will allow the war to end. They are not going to invade Ukraine to take other territory."

naravara 2y ago

They turned a country that is orders of magnitude more powerful and prosperous into a client state mostly through tweets and facebook slop. It’s incredible, they’ll be studying it for decades.

ecommerceguy 2y ago

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JohnBooty 2y ago
There's much that is potentially shady about that deal, such as the Clintons receiving donations through the Clinton Foundation that were allegedly bribes for the Uranium One situation. Certainly Russian foreign investment in America, especially something sensitive like uranium, should raise eyebrows. But it's not clear there are direct or indirect ramifications for national security. Russia already has access to plenty of uranium. This was also at a time when Russia was looking like it wanted to become a peaceful member of the world community. They were not the adversary to a peaceful world that they are today. https://www.politifact.com/article/2017/oct/24/what-you-need-know-about-hillary-clinton-and-urani/ https://www.politifact.com/article/2017/oct/24/what-you-need... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium_One_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium_One_controversy
nuancebydefault 2y ago
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throwawayq3423 2y ago
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soerxpso 2y ago

In what way is it in my interest to give hundreds of billions of my nation's money toward fighting an unwinnable conflict on the other side of the world over which corrupt sex trafficking organization will control a small plot of land? The Cold War propaganda derangement that still exists in the minds of certain people is insane.

bongodongobob 2y ago
Because you want the world to trust that the US won't turn their backs on agreements especially when it involves a country giving up their nukes. Which would have helped protect them.
- soerxpso 2y ago
  Nobody in the US voted for that agreement. I want the world to notice that they need to stop treating my people like daddy's credit card. It's a shame that the previous occupying regime hated its constituents enough to make these insane agreements to try and loot us, but we definitely don't need to stick to them now just because of that.
  - threeseed 2y ago
    You don’t vote for any policy or action. You vote for Presidents and politicians who act on your behalf.
  - nuancebydefault 2y ago
    So now just loot Ukraine, a country weakened by war. And blame their president in stead of the agressor. Oh and 'he said bad but unfortunately true things over the phone' so let's humiliate him in my only language while he's asking for help in his third language.
  - _DeadFred_ 2y ago
    Yes, in the USA we vote for representatives who then make agreements on our behalf. That we don't have direct democracy on every level does not make our process undemocratic, and does not make all of our agreements null and void. I want my people to keep their basic agreements and promises so that the rest of the world continues to trust our dollar as a reserve currency and our stock market as a safe place to invest.

TheAlchemist 2y ago

It sure looks like it. Let's ask the question - if Russia was able to compromise the US president, what action would he take ? I don't have answers very different from about what's going on right now.

__MatrixMan__ 2y ago
That's what I keep coming back to. If I were trying to harm American interests, what would I do differently? Nothing.
- digitaltrees 2y ago
  Exactly this. And that is such an important intellectual tool, the ability to extrapolate second and third order decisions and match them to people’s incentives lets you create accurate mental models of multiparty negotiations and interactions and predict how people will act in future situations. It’s really powerful. Applying here, I would expect trump moves to lift sanctions and normalize trade with Russia. Europe, if it has a spine will sanction the US.

mountainmonk 2y ago

Honestly I'm glad, for a bit there it seemed like there were some idiots that thought they could win in a direct conflict against Russia and China including going nuclear. Trump was the wost possible candidate in every aspect I can think of except one, he will put his self interest above everything else and is very flexible without any ideological beliefs that supercede his self interest.

worldsayshi 2y ago
What is worse, risking nuclear annihilation or risking the end of democracy as a concept and fully inviting authoritarianism?
- mountainmonk 2y ago
  Is this serious?. I think you got things mixed up a bit here I think you meant to say the opposite. The better comparison would be, would I rather have me, my kids and everyone I love die in a ball of fire or disease/hunger as society crumbles around us or risk the end of democracy and inviting authoritarianism?. I personally would always risk dictatorship, you can fight against dictators but not against death.
- throwawayq3423 2y ago
  Allowing Russia to take a country by force: 1. Will guarantee it will do it again, guaranteeing more war. 2. Will motivate more countries to get nuclear weapons, raising the chances of a nuclear war.
y0ssar1an 2y ago
Appeasing nuclear bullies gets you more nuclear bullying, not less. Because of Trump's betrayal of Ukraine, the whole world knows that US security guarantees don't mean anything. These security guarantees have prevented the spread of nuclear weapons. The US has treaties with dozens of countries promising a US nuclear response if the country is nuked. Therefore, those countries have not had to develop nuclear weapons. They do now. Their trust has been completely shattered. I guarantee you that formerly non-nuclear countries like South Korea, Japan, and half of Europe are now full speed ahead on secret nuclear weapons programs. Trump has destroyed the US-led world order and we're now on a much scarier timeline. Nuclear war is more likely, not less.

_zagj 2y ago

[flagged]

sgnelson 2y ago
And now here we all are with the russian agents firmly entrenched in the GOP.

Timber-6539 2y ago

[flagged]

bjoli 2y ago
Well, Russia has been interfering a lot recently. And don't you find it quaint how what Trump does aligns with Russian interests? He has already weakened diplomatic ties to all western countries, killed USAID (who is going to move in to get all that goodwill? China of course). Put doubts in people about the meaning and guarantees of NATO. And he calls Zelensky a dictator and refuses to call Putin one. Laughable. If there is no russian interference trump is even more clueless than I thought.
- Timber-6539 2y ago
  So why did Trump invite a so-called dictator to the Oval Office? You are going to have a very long 4 years of Trump if you choose to remain willfully ignorant about what his administration is about or if you place more importance on his negotiation tactics over the results.
  - bjoli 2y ago
    Because he was expected to? To get a mineral deal and a ceasefire seemingly without any security guarantees? (Because Putin "is a man of his word") I never thought I would see the day of a president that was more gullible than Bush with his story about Putin's mother's crucifix. Edit: and getting support from Orbán is hardly something to be proud of.
    - Timber-6539 2y ago
      Zelensky lost big yesterday. The minerals deal was supposed to solidify a security guarantee from Uncle Sam. He bet on the wrong horse i.e Europe. Ukraine is facing assured destruction now if Zelensky continues on the foolish path of drumming up support for more war against the insurmountable Bear. I respect Trump a lot more for having the fortitude to push for a peace negotiation, maybe we'll even be talking about a Nobel prize sometime next year.

worldsayshi 2y ago

A somewhat adjacent interpretation is that he doesn't care about democracy. And so why would he care if Ukraine got invaded. He wants to be a king or emperor or whatever. If Putin takes Ukraine the idea of kings being back gets more normalized.

sigmarule 2y ago

I'm always cautious about saying something like this for fear of sounding hyperbolic. But good lord, watching this video right after reading about the administration's change in stance on Russian cyber threats [1] really chips away at any remaining room for ambiguity. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/28/trump-russia-hacking-cyber-security https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/28/trump-russia...

PathOfEclipse 2y ago
You should continue to be cautious, as the Guardian article is pretty weak. It's first point is that Russia wasn't mentioned in a talk about cyber threats, which means very little by itself. It's second and final point comes from an "anonymous source". I'll believe it when the source becomes de-anonymized. Too many deep state "anonymous tips" have turned out to be lies. It should be noted that CISA has a history of strong leftwing activism: https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-cybersecurity-defense-agency-immediately-worked-to-discredit-hunter-biden-laptop-story-legal-group-says https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-cybersecurity-defense-age... https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-colluded-with-big-tech-to-censor-americans-house-lawmakers-report-says https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-colluded... Trump is not far right and never has been. He's actually moderate on most issues. The current far right position is the Tucker Carlson "isolation at all costs" and "Putin maybe isn't a bad guy" garbage. Trump holds neither of those views.
- sigmarule 2y ago
  If it turns out that CISA analysts were truly told verbally to no longer focus or report on Russian threats, and if you assume this was done under Trump's direction or to align with his intent, would would your thoughts be? I'm not (yet) asserting that either of those two conditions are or aren't true, I'm just curious what your thoughts would be IF they were.
  - PathOfEclipse 2y ago
    It's a good question, and, in the worst case, I would disagree with the Trump administration and lose some trust in them. There is also the possibility that missing context would provide reasonable justification for the order. For instance, I think "Russian election interference" investigations have mostly been a partisan operation with little evidence that such interference has had any meaningful impact on U.S. elections. These investigations are mostly used to make the political right side look bad by tying them to Putin. It would be reasonable for the Trump admin to defund these investigations as we have much greater problems to be worried about.

submeta 2y ago

Actually it has been compromised by Israel, by AIPAC, acting against American interests, creating negative sentiments against Americans across the Middle East and even globally just to support a messianic far right government in Israel.

casperc 2y ago

I might also mention elections being compromised. It is another clear target for Russia with an extremely high payoff. Feel certain they have not managed to hack the election?

brightball 2y ago

[flagged]

thinkingtoilet 2y ago
This is a summery by a right-wing influencer who clearly has a massive bias. Do with that information what you will.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
nickpeterson 2y ago
I think this take only makes sense if there is no such thing as morally or justice. If we were just discussing a business deal, fine, but Ukrainians are being killed and told to be nicer to the killer’s leader. It’s an insane position.
nuancebydefault 2y ago
>> All Zelensky had to do was remain calm for a few more minutes and they would've signed a deal. The deal was: give the resources so we give money. And btw just hand over the land to Putin. Glad he did not sign.
DoingIsLearning 2y ago
> best summary From the author of "The origins of Woke", without aiming for ad hominem that sounds like a rather biased source from my European perspective. I would prefer to watch the whole press conference and make my own conclusions.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]

macinjosh 2y ago

This concept is so disingenuous. The earth is is big enough for Russian, China, and the US to coexist in peace. My country's spending should be spent in my country. Not liberating a land that has nothing to do with us.

tootie 2y ago
That's incredibly sanguine. Russia has been annexing territory and this was a gambit to take a huge chunk by force. If they had rolled over Ukraine in weeks as many predicted they'd have pointed their guns at Belarus and Georgia and all the former satellites. Acquiescing is what we did to Hitler when he wanted the Sudetenland and he was not appeased by it. I'd also cite John Donne and say "no man is an island". Our "country" exists as an arbitrary artifact of history. If you are capable of caring about people you don't know then it shouldn't matter if they're from another state or another country.
- throwawayq3423 2y ago
  Some countries conduct the exactly amount of war they are capable of doing, kill as many people as they have the capacity to do, until they are stopped. Russia is one of those countries.
anigbrowl 2y ago
A plane can take you or your cargo to the other side of the world in a day, missiles can go much faster than that, and communications are instantaneous. The world is still a big place but it's naive to ignore the facts of technological interconnectedness.

munchler 2y ago

I don’t think Trump has the sophistication to be a Russian agent. The sad truth is just that he’s wannabe dictator who admires Putin as a role model. Russia is as surprised at their luck as anyone else.

llamaimperative 2y ago
"Russian agent" != trusted collaborator. It means they can use you. He's perfectly predictable/controllable using just flattery and greed, which petro terrorist states like Russia can utilize quite generously.
- munchler 2y ago
  Sure. All I’m saying is that Russia doesn’t need kompromat or some other illicit leverage over Trump. It’s all happening in the open.
luxuryballs 2y ago
Trump is an open book, he says he wants the killing to stop and to save money, but saving lives is more important. Many people also believe this, and that failed negotiations and bad relations between NATO and Russia lead to this. It’s not pro-Russian to want a conflict to end, it’s terrible to think that not wanting people to continue to die is considered bad if it happens to include people of a specific nation who have little control over their leadership currently.
- UncleOxidant 2y ago
  Zelensky would really like this war to end (he said so in the meeting), but he also realizes that Putin can't be trusted - give him an inch and he'll take a mile. The kind of "peace" that Trump wants is the "peace in our times" of Chamberlain or the "peace" of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact - the kind of "peace" that ultimately leads to more war.
- throwawayq3423 2y ago
  > Trump is an open book, he says he wants the killing to stop. Then he should put pressure on Russia to leave Ukraine. Anything short of that guarantees the killing will continue.

rowanseymour 2y ago

Your government is certainly compromised but is it Russia? A lobby group for a certain settler colony in the Middle East spent money on 80% of the seats up for election last year, and boasts of its ability to interfere with US elections. Jeffrey Epstein was linked with the intelligence services of that colony and who knows what he had on Trump and other top US politicians.

yieldcrv 2y ago

All Putin has to do is not try to recreate the soviet union and the spice will flow Obviously he has a history of doing these prideful things just to remind people he has chips to play. But if he literally just didnt, there is upside for unprecedented economic development

throwawayq3423 2y ago
He's obsessed with the idea that Russia is vulnerable to invasion via Ukraine and eastern Europe, which is why imperial conquest of those areas is a non-negotiable. The question he can't answer is why the hell anyone would want to invade Russia in 2025 the way Napoleon or the Nazis did. They have nothing of value.

UncleOxidant 2y ago

As an American I've never been more ashamed of the leadership of my country. And really just ashamed of my country. Ashamed to be an American at this point in history. Zelensky has shown more bravery than Trump or Vance are even capable of and they decided to ambush and lecture him like that. Absolutely disgusting.

marcusverus 2y ago
You're more embarrassed by Trump tactlessly trying to end the war in Ukraine than you are about anything in living memory? Is this a serious comment?
- throwawayq3423 2y ago
  > You're more embarrassed by Trump tactlessly trying to end the war in Ukraine The fastest way to end a war is to lose it. A conditional surrender of Ukraine based on all Russian demands is not peace deal, to state the obvious. It is in fact a guarantee this war will continue, which is what Ukraine is seeking to avoid.

crystal_revenge 2y ago

Honestly I think this is a bad take and I'm not exactly what one would call a "supporter" of the current administration. Americans get too wrapped up in the propaganda around Ukraine to even start to understand it. If your understanding of what's going on starts in 2022 and not, at least, back to 2014, then you're not really understanding what's going on. The conflict in Ukraine has, since the 2010s, has been about fossil fuels and other mineral rights. Around that time oil and natural gas sources were found in all the regions currently being fought over. Ukraine, sadly, will always just be a pawn for the other major players. What we're seeing here is not "Russian interests being prioritized over American interests". This war has never been about what's good for the American people nor the Ukrainian people, but the companies that stand to benefit from extraction rights (Democrats as well as Republicans get their directions from billionaires, despite the song and dance to convince you otherwise). The prior administration had fairly strong support from and for European parties that wanted to partake of these resources. The change is really away from support for Europe in favor of two things: better relations with Russia, and more importantly, ending this thing. The "ending this thing" is not because of desires for peace, but because as long as there are bombs being dropped in this region nobody can extract anything from anywhere. People upset about this situation are living in a world that doesn't exist anymore. We're in the end game of industrial civilization and the rules have changed. The future is no longer infinitely bright and very soon the global economy will start to contract. Additionally we'll be seeing climate catastrophe ramp up dramatically in coming years. As the Arctic melts, Canada and Russia will effectively share a border (making Trump's other "crazy" idea, less "crazy"). Europe, once our obvious ally, will have increasingly less to offer the US in the coming decades. Europe, largely lacking in fossil resources, is going to increasingly find itself a minor player in global politics. The realpolitik of today is major oil producing nations realizing that conflict with each other will, at this phase of the game, do more harm then forming alliances.

dboreham 2y ago

At least we know there's no deep state.

luxuryballs 2y ago

> The American government has been compromised by Russia. It no longer represents American interests, but Russian interests. What kind of conspiracy theory is this? It makes no sense, at least have believable ones if you’re going to promote them.

marcusverus 2y ago
Blueanon is so hot right now.
throwawayq3423 2y ago
If Trump was taking direct orders from Putin, what would he be doing differently? Just the fact that something is fantastical and hard to believe on the surface does not make it untrue.
- luxuryballs 2y ago
  this is not a Trump problem, with instant global communication no leaders can be trusted by your logic, it’s not unreasonable to think that Biden took power and allowed Putin and Blackrock to each carve a piece of Ukraine off for themselves and Zelensky is a puppet of these corrupt grifters, that looks far more likely than Putin giving orders to Trump, especially with all the Burisma/Hunter emails and money trail, and considering Biden not only allowed it to happen but funded much of the destruction too, follow the money
  - throwawayq3423 2y ago
    None of your claims are sourced and appear on the surface to be conspiracy theory / both sideism designed to distract from what Trump is doing. > Burisma/Hunter emails For example, you appear to be hinting towards the Russian disinfo that Biden was involved in a corrupt deal in Ukraine. That is false. The main source of this claim was arrested for lying about it. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68313086 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68313086 I'll try again with my question, if Trump was taking direct orders from Putin, what would he be doing differently?

bedhead 2y ago

This is so stupid.

colordrops 2y ago

Lots of words spilled in this thread about how the American government is now all of a sudden compromised but almost nothing as the US subserviently sent billions in weapons and aid to Israel to commit genocide for more than a year now. Most Americans are extreme hypocrites with blinders on. This country has been compromised by Israel for far longer, and in a much worse way.

fny 2y ago

What happened was incredibly bad diplomacy, but this take is frankly hysterical. The Trump administration believes cozying up to Russia will draw them away from China. The Trump administration also believes relieving sanctions will cause commodity prices to drop. And they are willing to throw Ukraine under the bus for those privileges along with some minerals. This is undeniably good for the American economy, but at a moral price.

throwawayforare 2y ago

I'm seriously considering leaving the U.S. I can't justify paying taxes to a government that leaves me feeling disheartened. The EU should have visa programs for skilled professionals looking to leave the U.S.

SteveNuts 2y ago
Frustrating that the US will still apply income tax even if you're working abroad (I want to say over $130k/yr, but that could be wrong)
- jemmyw 2y ago
  It does but most western countries have a double-tax agreement with the US so you won't end up paying any tax to the US
jemmyw 2y ago
The following EU countries offer skilled worker visas: Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Portugal, Denmark. Also non-EU places such as Aus and NZ.
FirmwareBurner 2y ago
> The EU should have visa programs for skilled professionals looking to leave the U.S. We don't have a skilled worker shortage in EU right now, we have a skilled jobs shortage. All white collar skilled job ads are flooded with local applicants, we don't need more immigrants to water down wages and push up rents. My (f500 company) company just laid off 70 SW & HW engineers at one office while I've been part of the layoffs before. The real shortages are in healthcare, and tough jobs people don't like to do for little money, like construction or elderly care, but there's enough Europeans willing to work cushy office jobs there's no need to import foreign competition other than to appease the corporate pushed propaganda.
- Panoramix 2y ago
  Yeah but we could use a whole bunch of tech companies. There should be a visa program for entrepreneurs. That should be always the case but especially now.

thuridas 2y ago

I am starting to believe the theory that Trump was a Russian agent

yaksha 2y ago

How is it not in American interest to stop wasting money on a proxy war? Yes, Russia should not have invaded Ukraine, but they did and they have basically won. If news reports are at all accurate, our military isn't as great as we think (our of resources to send to Ukraine, poor ability to resupply quickly) it is and the theater of war has changed to be more drone focused than ever before. Why have there been next to no peace talks since the beginning of the war? How much more money will we spend on another quagmire of intervention? There are plenty of issues here at home that need more attention and money than this proxy war. Like our unsustainable debt.

elcritch 2y ago

> America is experiencing a decapitation strike, and our military is not defending us from these domestic enemies. There we go, democracy is fine until it goes against the "liberal" zeitgeist. It's not really liberalism just like "far right" now seems to be regularly slapped onto viewpoints which were considered normal or even centrist a decade or two ago. It dilutes any chance of actual conversation between right and left. Though yes the US military, rather state department, does openly fund political manipulation abroad via USAID. It's not humanitarian aid, or rather, the humanitarian aid is a side effect at best, as even liberal publications recognize [2, 3]. However like the OP here, there's increasing trends toward using USAID programs to "protect" America from stupid Americans who begin to "wrong-think" about things. The UK has a similar problem where public funding is used to influence politics where it's easy to see the absurdity [1]. I'm sorry but a few bots on X don't compromise Americans and make them some sort of far right extremists any more than me reading Lord of the Rings or 1984 does. We do need to protect ourselves from actual sabotage, bribery, etc but not use it as an excuse for blanket manipulation. Yeah, that should be an absolute no on even considering it. The US military and state department apparatus does not have a role in deciding what Americans should believe. 1: https://europeanconservative.com/articles/commentary/right-wing-radicalization-may-begin-by-reading-j-r-r-tolkien-and-c-s-lewis/ https://europeanconservative.com/articles/commentary/right-w... 2: https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/usaid-trump-musk-history-controversies/ https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/usaid-trump-musk-... 3: https://www.wakeuptopolitics.com/p/foreign-aid-is-unpopular https://www.wakeuptopolitics.com/p/foreign-aid-is-unpopular

throwawayq3423 2y ago
> Though yes the US military, rather state department, does openly fund political manipulation abroad via USAID. It's not humanitarian aid, or rather, the humanitarian aid is a side effect at best. You betray how much you hate democracy when you refer to efforts to strengthen the ability to conduct free and fair elections at home and aboard as "liberal activism".

develop7 2y ago

Sure, but what are you going to do about that? (edit: formatting)