Donald Trump’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin was certainly a weird one. The “America First” president siding with Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies while in Helsinki was disturbing, to say the least. Trump’s face turned red when he missed a call from Putin, The Independent reports. “Putin is the only man in the world who can destroy the United States, and I didn’t take his call,” the former president complained to his UK counterpart, Theresa May, according to the outlet.
The two world leaders seemed to have a cozy relationship, almost like two best friends in the 5th grade. And although Trump likes to play the strongman, he bowed to Putin repeatedly. Trump feigned to want election integrity while never standing up to Putin for interfering in our elections. The reason for that could be that they have something in common: Trump tried to interfere in our presidential election, too.
POLITICO published an interesting piece today that delves into that, and noted Trump’s interpreter’s take on the former president and Putin’s phone calls.
“But former senior Trump advisers said it was rare that Trump would say anything to the Russian leader that he had not already said publicly (or would simply blurt out later while complaining about “the Russia hoax”),” the outlet reports. “Marina Gross, who interpreted many of Trump’s calls and meetings with Putin, told associates that listening to their conversations often felt like eavesdropping on two friends chatting in a bar, according to one former official.”
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“Few Trump-era mysteries are as intriguing as what the 45th president said to Vladimir Putin in at least a dozen rambling, off-the-cuff calls and meetings over four years,” the report states. “Understanding what was said between the two could help illuminate whether Trump ever revealed sensitive information or struck any deals with the Kremlin leader that could take the new administration by surprise.”
Business Insider reported in 2019 that Marina Gross was “the interpreter who was the only other American in the room for Trump and Putin’s 1-on-1 meeting in Helsinki.”
The outlet reports that President Joe Biden now has access to all of Trump’s phone calls with the Russian leader.
Featured image via White House/Flickr
