Is Trump a Russian puppet?

Donald Trump and ‘The Russian Puppet’ Claims
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The superiority of the United States above any other country in the world has always been center stage rhetoric in the US. For this reason, Donald J. Trump’s affiliation to Russia created quite a significant apprehension across the great nation. In fact, cautiousness against the influence of Russia over and inside the United Stated began well before the political heat that engulfed the nations before the elections. In the recent past, Russia has taken numerous actions that may be seen as purely provocative to the United States. Although these two nations have not been the closest allies since the cold war era, their relationship deteriorated significantly during Barrack Obama’s administration when Russia seemed to test the patience of the United States openly. (Blake, 2016) The most prominent actions that have given this expression have been the annexation of Crimea as well as Russia’s military and political involvement is Syria.
To understand the dynamic nature of this relationship, it is important to consider the influence of the United States in the countries near Russia. Many of these countries are members of the former USSR that Putin has been quoted to say that ought to be united to give the Soviet Union its former glory. On the other hand, these countries prefer to retain their independence and put a spirited fight to achieve the independence. Among them, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia are members of NATO, an organization where the influence of the USA runs deep.

As a result, the United Stated commits extensive resources in both military and financial aid to the stability of this region which actively prevents Russian intimidation. (Crowley & Kruse, 2016)
Having a US president who is easily manipulated by Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin parliament would, therefore, serves the benefit to the benefit of Russia. The annexation of Crimea contradicted any terms of civil relationships between Russia and western democracies. Since then, Russia has acted in actions considered blatantly disrespectful to the USA. For example, when Obama’s administration proposed active US military action in Syria after suspicion of chemical weapon use, Kremlin objected and went as far as to claim that the US carried out the attack itself to implicate Bashar Al Assad falsely. This forced the US to back down to avoid escalating the Syrian crisis. (Bertrand, 2016)
Such actions have led to an opinion that the US has become weak and disrespected in the International forum. One of the reasons the electorate may have had a problem electing a Democratic candidate is the fear of maintaining status quo of what they saw as a weakened America. (Willis, 2016) As a result, Trump’s promise to ‘Make America Great Again’ resonate a promise that would reinstitute the nation to some former glory. However, the alluded close relationship between President-elect Donald Trump and Russian president has been seen to contradict this hope. (Hellquist, 2016) In many cases, Trump has been analyzed as a Russian a puppet who will betray American values for a collision with the Kremlin. (Wilsteim, 2016) Could Donald Trump be a Russian puppet? In investigating this question, this paper will seek to respond to the following questions:
What are the accusations leveled towards Donald Trump that Establish him as a Russian puppet?
What among his comments defy of support this theory?
Are there any signals from the Kremlin that endorse this theory?
What is Donald Trump’s foreign policy particularly regarding NATO and Russia?
Are there are vested interests that would draw Trump to the Kremlin?
Is there a possible mutually beneficial relationship between US and Russia?
What Are The Accusations Leveled Towards Donald Trump that Establish Him as a Russian Puppet?
Although there have been various interests in the relationship between Putin and Trump, the question was never as hotly debated as in the aftermath of October hack of Podesta’s email account. These emails which lay open private conversations between Hillary Clinton and other individuals opened up a new window of criticism to the Democratic candidate, an action which was seen to push forward Trump’s bid for the presidency. (Beauchamp, 2016) The Democratic Party responded by blaming the Russian government of hacking the emails to help Trump win the presidency election. The American intelligence has from the beginning said it believed Russian intelligence was behind the string of hacks that began in April.
However, the history of hacking between the US and Russia has not started recently. Edward Snowden, a man on the run after exposing millions of emails between American diplomats and their government at home that hurt the diplomatic relationships between US and other countries is living in an undisclosed location in Russia where he was given an asylum after fleeing the US. The question of whether the recent hacks came from within Russia is still and ambiguous topic. (Alexander, 2016) An even greater question is whether the real intention was to give a political milestone to Trump over Hillary Clinton. Ultimately, there is a need to verify whether such an action resulted from Russian’s sheer need to embarrass the US administration it has shown not to be particularly fond of or there was the intention to advantage Trump. (Beauchamp, 2016) Additionally, leaders around the globe are known to have preferences on leaders they would like to work with. It is, therefore, difficult whether Putin’s decision to assist Trump means that Trump is a puppet or it is a single sided affair.
What in His Comments Defy or Support this Theory?
The nature of the relationship between Putin and Trump has always been a topic of interest in the public arena. There are various instances where interviews have shown particular interests on this relationship. In the initial stages of Trump in the political arena, he invariably gloried in their shared mutual attraction of each other. (Walker, 2016) In a 2013 interview with MSNBC Trump agreed that he has a close relationship with Putin. In fact, he alluded that there could be so much interest between the two that he suggest that Putin may be watching the interview there and then. This could be interpreted to mean that Putin was vesting hope in the fact that he would win the election and thus his policies were important to him. It could also imply that Russia was in general interested in the American politics. (“Donald Trump, Putin’s puppet,” 2016)
Once again, while addressing a CPAC conference in 2014, Trump remarked that Putin had sent him a present while he was in Russian. Putin, who owns a beauty contest known as Miss Universe Pageant was in Russia for an associated ceremony and claimed to have been treated very well in Russia. Once again, in 2014, while speaking at a conference at the National Press Club, Trump lamented the fact that the Russian president did not respect the president of the United States anymore. (Sumner, 2016) He alluded to the fact that this was something negative for US political and business interests and emphasized on the need for mutual respect between the US and Russian administrations. In this conference, he claimed to have spoken severally to Putin in both direct and indirect communications. Since he claimed to have a great relationship with Putin, he voiced himself to be a better candidate for the elections.
In 2015, he claimed to have been Putin’s stable mate and spent a whole hour with him. This was later seen to be untrue as sources proved that Trump and Putin were not together at the claimed moment of interaction. Most of these claims are not verifiable. (“Trump, Clinton Debate Who Is Putin’s ‘Puppet’,” 2016) However, the undeniable insistence of Trump regarding his close relationship with Putin has been seen as an ardent desire to please Russia which can be interpreted as an inclination to be a puppet. In a strange twist of tone, Trump denied knowing Putin in the final debate before elections probably to defy the probability of involvement in the WikiLeaks. (Liebelson, 2016)
Are There Any Signals From The Kremlin that Support this Theory?
One of the most globally reported phenomenon after the announcement of Trump’s victory was that the Kremlin parliament erupted in cheer. Some sources go as far as to claim that President Putin bought Champaign to celebrate this victory. (“Why George Will Might Be Right About Vladimir Putin’s Hold Over Donald Trump (VIDEO) | RedState,” 2016) The Russian president was definitely among the first international leader to send an unreserved congratulatory message to the president-elect. While most of the leaders surprised at the results sent in a rather cautious message, Russia sent a full fledge message of support. In fact, Putin included a promise for support and said that Russia was ready and willing to work fully with the United States. In a way, Russia seems to have been the only country in the world that anticipated Trump’s victory. The support for Trumps was probably more openly expressed in Russian streets than in US streets where polls continually favored Hillary Clinton. (Eichnwald, 2016) Gauging from the atmosphere, it would seem that the Russian population and administration anticipated easier relationship with the United Stated led by Donald Trump.
The involvement of Russia in the Wikileaks is also not an entirely undeniable reality. If the leaks originated from the Russia, it obviously was biased against Hilary Clinton’s campaign. It would be obvious, particularly in relation to the timing of the leaks that the intention was to hurt her chances of winning the elections. Besides, Kremlin did not entirely deny the plausible accusation of its involvement but insisted that the people should concentrate on what is inside the hack rather than who hacked the information. Undoubtedly, Trump enjoyed more support in Russia than Hilary Clinton. (Kwang, 2016)
What is Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy Especially Concerning NATO and Russia?
Another factor that has been seen to support the president elect’s bid to ease things for Russia is a relatively hardcore stance against NATO and other US allies outside US soil. Trump, a man who runs everything like a business, has suggested that countries within these organizations will have to pay more dues to receive US support and protection. (Mathews, 2016) According to him, US engaged in too many expensive ventures that have no benefits to it. This would benefit Russia in numerous ways. Primarily, it would weaken defense in these countries, and this would allow Russia to carry out many operations uninhibited.
Are There any Vested Interests that Would Draw Trump to The Kremlin?
Trump is an acclaimed businessman with investments around the globe. In the interviews where he has claimed to have interacted directly with Putin, he was therefore for a ceremony with one of his entities; ‘Miss Universe Pageant.’ (Guarnieri, 2016) It, therefore, would not be entirely surprising if Trump had some grand private business plans that required collaboration in Russia. This could align his administration towards the Kremlin. Recent unverified reports have shown that he could have up to 29 investment companies in Russia. In 2008, his son had alluded to the fact that a disproportionately large amount of their investment resources did come from Russia enterprises and Russian investors. (Gehrke & Examiner, 2016)

Is There a Possible Mutually Beneficial Relationship Between US and Russia?
Without a doubt, any two countries, especially those with immense wealth and influence as Russia and the US can enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship. For example, Russia has always been America’s counterparts in regulating the growth of nuclear weaponry. There have also been previous multi-billion dollar business relationships although most of these were suspended through sanctions put in after the annexation of Crimea. (Shuster, 2016)
Trump is Not a Russian Puppet
Despite the persistent hoax perpetuated by global and especially United States media, the evidence does not show in any way that Trump is a Russian puppet. In fact, through research, there does not seem to be any credible evidence that denotes Trump’s willingness to curve into the demands of the Russian administration. What appears to prevail in an admiration between two leaders? This is in no way a reflection on individual’s governance policy. In fact, a desire for political goodwill and business strengthening between two nations is always a positive aspect since countries can only influence each other on positive interactions.
While Trump did enjoy massive support from the Kremlin, there is no indication that this was because he is a puppet. Indeed, there is not variation in the traditional alignment of Russia which has had a negative relationship with the Obama administration and would have therefore disliked a status quo. (Shevt︠s︡ova, 2010) It is more probable that support for Trump originated from a dislike for a status quo government rather than a personal liking for Trump. (MacFarquhar, 2016)
Besides, Trumps domestic and foreign policy suggestions in his campaigns do not seem to support the idea of bending to Kremlin desires. Trump has often lamented that America has become weak against opponents because of more inadequate weapon development while other countries have advanced this field. He is, therefore, likely to encourage military strengthening rather than weaken them which against the wishes of the administration in Moscow. In fact, Trump had already suggested increasing, military strength with about 70000 personnel.
Trump continually expressed dislike for the fact that the Russian president no longer respects the American president. Part of his make America great again aims at restoring this regard for each other. It is, therefore, unlikely that he will find the idea of taking orders from Putin. He only the contrary is a man with the interests of America at heart. Most of the accusations leveled against him have been on the defense of the US rather than for the benefit of Russia. For example, the suggestion to require more contribution from NATO countries aimed at easing the burden of a military expedition in these regions on the US rather that empower Russia as alluded by critics.

References
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