与俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京(Vladimir Putin)关系不当的指控困扰着唐纳德·特朗普总统(Donald Trump)的任职时间。
特朗普评论家指出,他被免除了俄罗斯干预2016年大选的机会,他与弗拉基米尔·普京(Vladimir Putin)友好的联合露面以及有争议的外交政策决定似乎使克里姆林宫受益,以此证明特朗普对俄罗斯领导人的亲和力。
但是据前白宫国家安全顾问菲奥娜·希尔(Fiona Hill)说,在对特朗普的乌克兰政策进行弹each听证会上作证时说,总统对普京的友好态度至少部分是因为担心俄罗斯领导人如果越过会做些什么。
在谈到CBS新闻60分钟节目播出星期天,希尔说,布什总统“理解,普京总统不喜欢被侮辱。普京花费很往心里去。他怀有怨恨。他没有忘记。而且他会找到一些方法结果导致一定程度的报复。”
希尔指出,这是特朗普“也已与其他世界领导人一起采用的一种策略”。总统因试图与强权领导人和独裁者建立个人关系而受到批评,其中包括普京和北朝鲜独裁者金正恩。
同时,他经常使美国传统盟友的领导人心烦意乱,破坏了美国的多边承诺。希尔说,特朗普看着美国盟友“好像他们是商业伙伴一样”。
她解释说:“他带来的风格与他在激烈的业务讨论中所采用的风格相同。我认为这样做确实并且在很多方面已经损害了我们许多关键关系。”
希尔于2019年卸任,是白宫俄罗斯首席顾问。她警告说,普京“已经拥有了我们所有的政治阶层,包括媒体在内的我们每个人都在他想要我们的地方。” 她解释说:“美国人感到脆弱,他让我们感到无所适从,也让我们质疑自己系统的合法性。”
俄罗斯长期以来一直试图通过干预选举,利用社会分裂并支持分裂性候选人来破坏民主国家。立法者和情报官员警告说,莫斯科计划在2020年大选中重复2016年的努力,尽管特朗普否认了任何此类建议。
但是希尔警告说,俄罗斯人没有建立自己能够继续作战的师。她对哥伦比亚广播公司新闻说:“俄罗斯人没有发明党派分歧。俄罗斯人还没有在美国发明种族主义。” “但是俄罗斯人了解很多这样的分歧,他们了解如何利用它们。”
TRUMP AVOIDS INSULTING VLADIMIR PUTIN FOR FEAR OF 'SOME DEGREE OF REVENGE,' FIONA HILL SAYS
Allegations of improper ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin have dogged President Donald Trump's time in office.
Trump critics have pointed to his dismissal of Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, his chummy joint appearances with Vladimir Putin, and controversial foreign policy decisions that seem to benefit the Kremlin as evidence of Trump's affinity for the Russian leader.
But according to Fiona Hill—the former White House national security adviser who testified at the impeachment hearings into Trump's Ukraine policy—the president's friendly approach to Putin is at least partially driven by fear of what the Russian leader might do if crossed.
Speaking on CBS News' 60 Minutes program broadcast Sunday, Hill said the president "understands that President Putin does not like to be insulted. Putin takes it very personally. He harbors a grudge. He doesn't forget. And he will find some way of getting some degree of revenge as a result of that."
This is a tactic Trump "has employed with other world leaders as well," Hill noted. The president has been criticized for trying to build personal relationships with strongman leaders and dictators, including Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
Meanwhile, he has often maligned leaders of traditional U.S. allies and undermined America's multilateral commitments. Hill said Trump looks at American allies "as though they're business counterparts."
She explained, "He brought the same style that he would've applied in pretty hard-nosed business discussions. I think that that did and has, in many respects, done some damage to many of our key relationships."
Hill, who left her position in 2019, was the White House's top Russia adviser. She warned that Putin "has got all of our political class, every single one of us, including the media, exactly where he wants us." Americans are "feeling vulnerable, he's got us feeling on edge, and he's got us questioning the legitimacy of our own systems," she explained.
Russia has long sought to undermine democratic nations by meddling in elections, exploiting social divisions and backing divisive candidates. Lawmakers and intelligence officials have warned that Moscow is planning to repeat its 2016 efforts in the 2020 election, though Trump has dismissed any such suggestion.
But Hill warned that the Russians did not create the divisions they have been able to play on. "The Russians didn't invent partisan divides. The Russians haven't invented racism in the United States," she told CBS News. "But the Russians understand a lot of those divisions and they understand how to exploit them."