Трамп и Путин: Украина, Крым...

Сегодня вышло очередное интервью Трампа. В этот раз на ABC. В этом интервью Трамп снова поговорил о своих отношениях с Путиным, об Украине и о признании Крыма российской территорией.

Я не думаю, что at this point это интервью что-то меняет: люди, которые до сих пор не поняли, уже не поймут. Но, по крайней мере, публично отрицать очевидное им будет сложнее, поэтому я потрачу время и запишу ответы Трампа. Видео интервью ниже.

Извините за отсутствие ката, но, по-моему, это важно, и я не видел, как это можно логично обрезать.

(Если кто-то знает, где можно взять стенограмму этого интервью и других выступлений Трампа, я был бы благодарен за ссылку на будущее, чтобы я просто мог копировать текст.)

Об отношениях с Путиным:

Let's talk about Russia. You made a lot of headlines about Russia this week. What exactly is your relationship with Vladimir Putin?

I have no relationship with Putin. I have no relationship with him.

But if you have no relationship with Putin, why did you say in 2013 “I do have a relationship”? In 2014 “I spoke”…

Because he’s said nice things about me over the years. I remember years ago he said something, many years ago he said something very nice about me. I said something good about him when Larry King was on, that was a long time ago. And I said he is a tough cookie or something to that effect. He said something nice about me… that has been going on. We did 60 minutes together, by the way, not together together, meaning he was probably shot in Moscow and I was shot in New York.

He was in Moscow, you were in New York. That is the thing…

No, just so you understand, he said very nice things about me, but I have no relationship with him. I don’t…

Yet you said for three years, 13, 14 and 15 that you did have a relationship with him.

No. Look, what do you call a relationship?

I am asking you.

He treats me with a great respect. I have no relationship with Putin. I don’t think I have ever met him, I never met him, I don’t think I have ever met him…

You would know if you did, wouldn’t you?

Yeah, I think so. I don’t think I have ever met him. I mean if he is in the same room or something, but I don’t think so.

Never have spoken to him on the phone?

I’ve been to Moscow, I’ve never met him in Moscow.

[…]

But I just want to clear this up; because you have said on three different occasions you had a relationship with him and now you say there is none.

Well, I don’t know what it means by having a relationship. I mean, he was saying very nice things about me, but I don’t have a relationship with him. I didn’t meet him, I have not spent time with him, I didn’t have dinner with him, I didn’t go hiking with him. […]

Про Украину и Крым:

Vice president Biden told me this week: Vladimir Putin wants to beat Hillary. Madeleine Albright said that your victory would be a gift to Putin. And what they are pointing to is things like your statements like conditioning our commitments to NATO allies, softening the GOP platform on Ukraine, even considering softening sanctions and recognizing Russian annexation of Crimea. They fear that that’s gonna hurt America and advance Russia’s interests.

They only fear one thing – losing the election. If our country got along with Russia that would be a great thing. When Putin goes out and tells everybody… and you talk about relationship… but he says Donald Trump is going to win and Donald Trump is a genius… and then I have people saying you should disavow… I say: I should disavow that? But when Putin says good things and when we have a possibility of good relationship with Russia. I think that…

But if we have a good relationship by bowing to his annexation of Crimea, is that a good thing?

You know me pretty well, I don’t bow, OK? I don’t bow. But if we can have a good relationship with Russia and if Russia would help us get rid of ISIS, frankly, as far as I am concern, you’re talking about tremendous amounts of money and lives and everything else – that would be positive thing, not a negative thing.

Even if it means conditioning your commitments to NATO, as you said?

No, NATO will be just fine […]

Why did you soften the GOP platform on Ukraine?

I was not involved in that. Honestly, I was not involved.

Your people were.

Yeah, I was not involved in that. I would like to… I’d have to take a look at it. I was not involved.

Do you know what they did?

They softened it, I heard. But I was not involved.

They took away the part of platform calling for provision of lethal weapons to Ukraine to defend themselves. Why is that a good idea?

It’s… look… you know, I have my own ideas. He is not going into Ukraine, OK? Just so that you understand. He is not going to go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down, you can put it down, take it any way you want.

But he’s already there, isn’t he?

OK, well, he is there in a certain way. But I am not there yet, Obama’s there. And, frankly, that whole part of the world is a mess under Obama, with all the strength that you are talking about, and all of the power of NATO and all of this… In the meantime he goes where he takes Crimea, he’s sort of… I mean…

But you said you might recognize that.

I’m gonna take a look at it. But you know the people of Crimea, from what I’ve heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were. And you have to look at that also. Now that was under… just so you understand, done under Obama’s administration. And as far as Ukraine is concerned, it’s a mess. And it’s under Obama’s administration with its strong ties to NATO. So with all strong ties to NATO Ukraine is a mess, Crimea has been taken… Don’t blame Donald Trump for that.

You said…

We are going to do better, and yet we are going to have better relationship with Russia. And having a good relationship… maybe… and having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing.