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🎰🔫 Trump is playing Russian roulette three weeks before the midterm elections, betting on Putin, whom even his own voters hate, - Axios
After Friday’s conversation with Putin, Trump launched a five-day campaign of diplomatic concessions to Moscow and public defenses of Russia. That has drawn criticism from both parties at a moment when Republicans risk losing control of Congress.
The benefits for the Kremlin are obvious, but what Trump himself gets is a big question, Axios notes. Energy analysts doubt that an agreement to supply Russian diesel would significantly lower fuel prices, which have risen because of the war in Iran. Meanwhile, European allies are confronting increased Russian sabotage, cyberattacks, and drone incursions.
What makes this gamble especially risky is Americans’ attitude toward Putin. According to a January YouGov poll, 81% of voters who voted for Trump in 2024 have a negative view of the Russian president. Nevertheless, the orange grandfather keeps insisting that Moscow is more interested in ending the war: "I think Putin actually wants to make a deal more than Zelensky does."
Axios reminds readers that Trump’s ties to Putin have been shadowed by scandals since 2016 — from Russian election interference to the Mueller investigation and the Helsinki summit. But even a decade of political pressure hasn’t changed his approach to the Kremlin.
The price of this political roulette could be high: Republicans losing the congressional majority could paralyze Trump’s legislative agenda and open the door to years of investigations into his administration’s activities.
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