A long conversation between Trump and Putin, not disclosed until now, fascinates and scares the G-20
There is no week without a hassle, sometimes two. The failure of the Senate to annul former President Obama’s health care law and pass the health care reform that Trump promised during his election campaign and desired by his Republican supporters, was a domestic slap in the face, and a slap for the future of this presidency. The other external slap is the one-hour pull-aside meeting with Vladimir Putin, hidden from the public for 10 days, using only one Russian interpreter from the Kremlin and without witnesses, at the end of a dinner for the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations in Hamburg on July 7.
These two bumps have converged in this besieged presidency. The endless patience that the Republican Party has with Trump has a limit: the legislative agenda. There will be a moment when the president’s failures will drain the Republicans' patience, and they will abandon him, just like the four senators who have already deserted Trump's health care counter-reform. The new episode of Trump's turbulent relationship with Moscow, which already has three congressional committees and a special prosecutor on the investigative track, revives concern about the chaotic management of U.S. foreign relations.
What were Trump and Putin talking about for an hour at the end of the dinner? Only the Kremlin knows. The president's spokesman said nothing until the news began circulating. It is also not known whether the president himself has communicated anything to anyone, even though on his return trip, he had a long and relaxed talk with the press.
Despite White House efforts to iron out the issue, there is nothing normal about an unsupervised meeting like that between Trump and Putin, on the same day he had another two-hour formal meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. It was not a journalist, but a political scientist, Ian Bremmer, president of the consulting firm Eurasia Group, who spread the news in his newsletter and explained it in detail to several radio and television stations. Bremmer got it straight from the mouth of some attendees, who were “flummoxed, confused and startled” by Trump and Putin's long, unusual cordiality in a corner of the long table.
“Never in my life as a political scientist have I seen two countries — major countries — with a constellation of national interests that are as dissonant, while the two leaders seem to be doing everything possible to make nice and be close to each other,” said Bremmer.
This episode proves again that Donald Trump is out of control. The State Department, underfunded and with a reduced budget, hardly counts in foreign relations. The White House, where everything is decided, is in the hands of the family and its advisers, who mainly fight among themselves. Russia has already become the central issue of this presidency, as a result of interference in the elections, the ascendant Russian pressure group and, above all, Trump's fascination with Putin whom he wants to please at all costs. This is the last, and perhaps the most outstanding enigma, the resolution of which will depend on the special prosecutor. Who knows whether or not the resolution of this issue can resolve all the rest.
Los estropicios de la semana
Una larga conversación entre Trump y Putin, hasta ahora desconocida, fascina y asusta al G20
No hay semana sin estropicio. Y a veces dos. Un bofetón interno, con trascendencia incluso para el futuro de esta presidencia es el fracaso en el Senado de la anulación del Obamacare, la contrarreforma sanitaria prometida en la campaña electoral y anhelada por su electorado republicano. El otro bofetón exterior es la reunión de una hora con Putin, ocultada durante diez días a la opinión pública, solo con un intérprete ruso del Kremlin y sin testigos, al término de una cena del G20 en Hamburgo el pasado 7 de julio.
Uno y otro estropicio confluyen en el cerco al presidente. La inagotable paciencia del Partido Republicano con Trump tiene un límite: la agenda legislativa. Si los incumplimientos presidenciales la vacían, habrá un momento en que los republicanos le abandonarán, como ya lo han hecho los cuatro senadores que han desertado de su contrarreforma. El nuevo episodio de la rocambolesca relación de Trump con Moscú, que tiene ya a tres comisiones parlamentarias y a un fiscal especial sobre la pista, reaviva la inquietud sobre la caótica gestión de las relaciones exteriores de Estados Unidos.
¿De qué pudieron hablar Trump y Putin durante una hora al término de la cena? Solo el Kremlin lo sabe. El portavoz del presidente nada dijo hasta que empezó a circular la noticia. No se sabe tampoco que el propio presidente haya comunicado nada a nadie, a pesar de que en su viaje de vuelta tuvo una larga y distendida charla con la prensa.
A pesar de los esfuerzos de la Casa Blanca por quitar hierro al asunto, no tiene nada de normal una reunión incontrolada como la que sostuvo Trump con Putin, el mismo día en que tuvo otra formal de más dos horas, con asistencia del secretario de Estado, Rex Tillerson. No fue un periodista, sino un politólogo, Ian Bremmer, presidente de la consultora Eurasia Group, quien difundió la noticia en su boletín y la explicó con detalle a varias radios y televisiones. Bremmer la obtuvo directamente de boca de algunos asistentes a la cena, “desconcertados, confundidos y asustados” por el largo e insólito aparte, lleno de cordialidad, que realizaron Trump y Putin en un rincón de la larga mesa. “Nunca en mi vida como politólogo había visto dos países importantes con una constelación de intereses tan disonantes, mientras que ambos líderes parecen estar haciendo todo lo posible para ser amables y estar cerca uno del otro”, remachó Bremmer.
Este episodio evidencia una vez más que Donald Trump está fuera de control. El Departamento de Estado, infradotado y con presupuesto recortado, apenas cuenta en las relaciones exteriores. La Casa Blanca, donde todo se decide, está en manos de la familia y de los asesores, en buena parte peleados entre sí. Rusia se ha convertido ya en el caso central de esta presidencia, por las interferencias en las elecciones, por el ascendente del grupo de presión ruso y, sobre todo, por la fascinación de Trump con Putin, al que quiere caer simpático a toda costa. Este es el último y quizás más destacado enigma, cuya resolución, quien sabe si a cargo del fiscal especial, puede conducir a resolver todos los otros.
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link
.
Elon Musk’s recent push to launch a new nationwide party ... not only comes off as pretentious but also sets a fundamentally new trend in U.S. politics.
It is doubtful that the Trump administration faces a greater danger than that of dealing with the Jeffrey Epstein files, because this is a danger that grew from within.
It is doubtful that the Trump administration faces a greater danger than that of dealing with the Jeffrey Epstein files, because this is a danger that grew from within.