Saying what most Americans had already known, former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said on MSNBC Tuesday that the Russians are laughing at how Trump is “helping with their agenda.”
“I think the Russians are laughing,” he told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell.
Video:
Amb. Michael McFaul on @MSNBC: “The Russians are laughing…at how our president, unfortunately, is helping their agenda.” pic.twitter.com/FhvEJWP1jM
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— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 30, 2017
Citing Trump’s statements about NATO during his trip abroad, McFaul said: “They’re laughing at how easy it is and how our president, unfortunately, is helping with their agenda. Let’s just be clear that NATO and G7 – those are our clubs. Those are clubs that we set up to advance our national security interests, to advance our prosperity. And the result of this trip has been discord in both of those groups. … That is music to Putin’s ears.”
Trump’s attitude toward NATO isn’t just contrary to decades of U.S. foreign policy, but it also couldn’t have worked out better for Vladimir Putin – who is no fan of NATO – if he wrote Trump’s speeches himself.
Not only did the Russians successfully interfere in last year’s presidential election to help Trump become president, but now they are successfully shaping U.S. policy in their favor.
McFaul was right that the Russians are laughing at the United States, but after Trump’s disastrous trip abroad, it’s likely that it isn’t just Russia laughing at Trump’s failed leadership over the past five months.
The whole world is laughing.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.