Reality Check: Is Trump a Stooge of Putin?

Donald Trump’s unorthodox approach to the conduct of diplomatic relations has been a persistent thorn in the side of America’s national security establishment for the last four years. Like a typical American, he regards America’s allies, like Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel and Justin Trudeau, as subordinates beholden to him personally; whereas he treats adversaries, such as Russian President Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as independent leaders deserving (from a public relations standpoint) a semblance of “equal treatment and respect”. The conspiracy theories perpetuated by the establishment-controlled media that Trump is Putin’s stooge and alleged...