I would be puzzled to know, if I were in Putin’s position, how to run Donald Trump as my asset. I have no doubt that they have obtained him, and they could probably blow him out of the water whenever they felt like it, but I think they are having much more fun feeding his contradictions and con-tributing to the chaos. ‘The terrifying thing is, the closer he draws to Putin, the more he lies and denies, the stronger his support among the faithful. You don't need to own Trump as an agent. You just have to let him run.
John le Carré
Letter to William Burroughs
23rd July 2018
source: Shaun Usher, Letters of Note
Way too true.
ReplyDeleteAll he had to do is stroke Trump's ego, promise a tower in Moscow, and more likely than not had a little blackmail on him. I'll never forget the picture of Trump and Putin after a private meeting when Trump was president. Putin looked like the cat that ate the canary and Trump looked like someone had stolen his cookie.
ReplyDeleteI would have liked to be a fly on the wall when Putin learned what transpired over here. He'll still try to inject as much chaos as he can but I think Trump is done. He couldn't even stay awake at his own convention.
What I don't understand is so many Americans that favor Putin.
Truth is still a slippery and rare commodity in politics. But it's interesting to consider world wide influences. I'm waiting to see how Putin tries to undercut Kamala in the media...he doesn't seem on top of things. In my humble opinion.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the link to the Letters of Note Substack where I found this, in a world where letters are no longer a major means of communication:
ReplyDeleteMohandas Gandhi
Letter to Adolf Hitler
23rd July 1939
Hmmm ... William Burroughs died in 1997. I'm puzzled.
Hmmm ... must be another William Burroughs?
To William Burroughs, a US fan living in France, who wrote to him over 15 years
Cornwall, 23 July 2018
Dear Bill,
Thanks for yours, and please forgive this typed response: I am in the late throes of the novel. The family bad news has brightened..... I would be puzzled to know, if I were in Putin’s position, how to run Donald Trump as my asset. I have no doubt that they have obtained him, and they could probably blow him out of the water whenever they felt like it, but I think they are having much more fun feeding his contradictions and contributing to the chaos. The terrifying thing is, the closer he draws to Putin, the more he lies and denies, the stronger his support among the faithful. You don’t need to own Trump as an agent. You just have to let him run. We are moving to London for an unknown period while I change the atmosphere around the book. I hope to have completed some kind of first draft by the Fall.
All very best to you, and stay in touch.
David
Astutely observed.
ReplyDeleteI think Putin's goals go beyond putting Trump in the White House. He's mainly about causing chaos, and destabilizing Western Democracy. Trump is more a tool than an end result.
And in response to Ellen's comment: Some of the ultra-conservatives who support Putin believe he is defending Christian tradition against Satanic western decadence. I never thought I'd see the day that Republicans support the Russians, but there you have it.
ReplyDeleteJohn Le Carre was right.
ReplyDelete