Trump’s Tirades Aren’t Swaying Putin

Times have changed: These quotes are from one of Donald Trump’s latest rhetorical blasts on his Truth Social site. Sunday’s outburst wasn’t the first time that the American president publicly asked his counterpart in the Kremlin to behave himself. One positive sign in Trump’s frustration is that the American president is finally admitting that Putin is bent on the total conquest of Ukraine. Trump is eager to reduce U.S. sanctions on Russia, but Putin keeps making conciliatory moves impossible. He’s playing with fire!” This is a typically hyperbolic Trump formulation: Trump’s record on Russia suggests that Putin need not worry.