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PODCAST

Trump’s Repulsive Rant About Putin and Jailed Reporter Is Very Ominous

Donald Trump is now claiming Vladimir Putin will free reporter Evan Gershkovich only if he wins. An expert in foreign relations explains why this is a bad omen for a second Trump term.

Mark Peterson/Pool/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump in New York City on May 21

On Thursday, Donald Trump tweeted that Vladimir Putin will only release Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia, after the election“for me,” meaning for Trump. In other words, elect Trump president, and Putin will release him! We think this saga gets at a larger story about Trump’s approach to politics and foreign policy. So we talked to Nicholas Grossman, a professor of international relations who writes about Trump’s Putinist inclinations. He explains how Trump may be sabotaging U.S foreign policy to help himself politically, while aligning himself with the world’s autocrats and dictators. Listen to this episode here.