The question of connections between Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin have followed him since his first presidential campaign. Why is Trump consistently said to have some kind of connection with Putin?

Russia helped Trump get elected.

The most tangible link appeared during the 2016 election, in which Trump and his campaign were accused of working in collaboration with, and with aid from, Putin and his government to win the presidency. A series of developments during the campaign created strong suspicions that Russia was acting in ways that deliberately benefited Trump’s campaign at the expense of his opponent Hillary Clinton.

Following his victory, the US Senate Intelligence Committee spent three years investigating the allegations and published a thousand-page report of findings in 2020. While the investigation didn’t state a conclusion on whether Trump’s campaign “colluded” directly with Russian operatives, the committee released a bipartisan conclusion that Russia had waged a “sophisticated and aggressive campaign” to influence the election towards Trump’s victory, and that his team was “more than happy” to accept help from them. The findings echoed what Special Counsel Robert Muller’s investigation found the year before,

Trump admires Putin.

The connections between Trump and Putin have also appeared in the broader scope of Trump’s professional politics and his own ideological and policy leanings. He has expressed admiration and affinity for authoritarian and anti-democratic actions from Putin on several occasions. When Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, Trump described him as a “genius” and someone who is “pretty savvy.” When Alexei Navalny, a leading Russian opposition figure, died suddenly in a Russian penal colony, Trump equated his death with his own criminal prosecutions. In his attacks against the prosecutors bringing 91 counts of felony charges against him, Trump cited Putin’s comments about Biden’s “politically motivated persecution” of Trump. On multiple occasions, Trump has seemed to deflect or dismiss un-democratic or even legally suspect actions taken by Putin rather than confront or push back on them as an American president may be expected to.

Trump favors Putin at the expense of the U.S.

Trump has even taken actions that seemed to undermine US officials and policy in favor of Russia: see, for example, a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister in the Oval Office during which Trump disclosed classified information to him, and a conference with Putin in Helsinki at which Trump publicly accepted Putin’s word on election interference against the word of the US’s own intelligence community. These actions baffled and outraged American officials and foreign policy experts, in part because they didn’t seem to serve or advance any American interests while simultaneously providing great value to Putin. A senior U.S. intelligence official reported to members of Congress that in 2020 Russia was interested in seeing Trump reelected because they viewed him and his government as being more favorable for Russia’s interests.

Trump’s associates have connections to Russia and Putin

There are also the significant, high-profile people who are affiliated with Trump who also have various connections to Putin’s government. Michael Flynn, Trump’s one-time nominee for National Security Advisor, has appeared multiple times on Russian state TV and even received a recognition from Putin. Paul Manafort, Trump’s 2016 campaign manager, was found to have multiple business ties with Russian leaders and industry interests.

Trump’s apparent affinity for Putin—as well as other right-wing leaders like Hungary’s Victor Orban—have raised concerns among American national security and intelligence officials that his policy priorities will weaken the US’s international position. His comments on Ukraine have caused worry that if elected, he would “end the war in a day”.

When considering these facts, questions arise:

1. Why did America’s enemies support a Presidential candidate?
2. What are the implications of an American leaders’ admiration for an authoritarian vs a democracy?
3. Should American Presidents share intelligence with our enemies? And why would they do so?

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