Trump changed views on Ukraine after hiring Manafort. - Polidicks

[URL="http://www.politico.eu/article/trump-changed-views-on-ukraine-after-hiring-paul-manafort-campaign-manager-russia-vladimir-putin/"]Article. Trump changed views on Ukraine after hiring Manafort.[/URL] (Note: my emphasis in bold for main points) [quote]Donald Trump sounded like a supporter of Ukraine’s territorial integrity last September, when he spoke by video feed to a gathering of political and business elites in Kiev. “Our president is not strong and he is not doing what he should be doing for the Ukraine,” Trump told he group of pro-Western businessmen, diplomats and politicians. “I don’t think you’re getting the support you need.” That view was in line with other statements Trump has made calling for a firmer Western response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s March 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for a pro-Russian separatist movement in the country’s east, according to a review of Trump’s public comments about Ukraine since 2014. In recent days, however, Trump has struck a far milder tone. He now says he might recognize Crimea as Russian territory and lift punitive U.S. sanctions against Russia. The alternative, he warned on Monday, could be World War III. While the reason for his shift is not clear, Trump’s more conciliatory words — which contradict his own party’s official platform — follow his recent association with several people sympathetic to Russian influence in Ukraine. They include his campaign manager Paul Manafort, who has worked for [B]Ukraine’s deposed pro-Russian president;[/B] his foreign policy adviser Carter Page and the former secretary of state and national security adviser [B]Henry Kissinger.[/B] ... But in recent weeks, Trump has sounded far more forgiving of Putin’s aggression, which has worsened with the entrenchment of pro-Russian separatist fighters in the country’s east, where nearly 10,000 people have been killed in the fighting. Trump now says that he is “going to take a look” at recognizing Crimea as Russian territory, and that he would consider lifting those same sanctions. And during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” this past Sunday, Trump seemed untroubled by Russia’s grip on the territory. [B] “The people of Crimea, from what I’ve head, would rather be with Russia than where they were, “ Trump said, echoing a frequent Kremlin talking point.[/B] In March 2014, 95.5% of Crimean voters did cast ballots to join Russia. But many residents boycotted the referendum, which the European Union declared “illegal and illegitimate.” At a Monday rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Trump called it futile to continue pressing for Russia to give up Crimea. [B]“You wanna go back?” Trump asked. “You want to have World War III to get it back?”[/B] ... [B]Trump has spoken positively about Putin for years [/B]and from the beginning of the Ukraine crisis, he has focused less on Putin’s aggression and more on what Trump calls Obama’s weakness. But until recently, Trump also frequently suggested that the U.S. needed to take a stronger stand in response. “So far we have all lip service,” Trump said of the international reaction to Putin’s aggression during his comments in Kiev last September. Trump’s changed tone comes after a period in which he has drawn extensive counsel from relative newcomers to his orbit who have strong views about Ukraine and Russia. One of them is Manafort, whom Trump hired in March and named as his campaign chairman in mid-May. [B]The 67-year-old Manafort advised Yanukovych’s successful presidential campaign in the winter of 2009-2010. Manafort’s client was viewed as the Kremlin-backed candidate against more Western-aligned rivals.[/B][/quote] Oh boy. This along with Manafort's payment, it does seem that Trump is super pro-Russian, to the detriment of Ukraine and possibly Europe.

Obama is weak! We never win anymore! Russia walks all over us! I on the other hand, am so strong on Russia that I cower in fear at the idea of calling out Putin's bullshit in Ukraine.

pro-russian? hahah people want this guy to actually be president. this ties in with that ledger article posted - him and his entire presidential campaigns a shithole and people are actually buying into it.

Well, good job with the WW3 fear-mongering, is that the excuse he'll tell the people every time he let's Russia step on America and the West's toes? Is he also just conveniently forgetting that Russia doesn't want a World War either? Russia will only step on toes it knows it can step on, and clearly they can step on Trump's toes, Trump is pretty much announcing that they can. But hey at least BLM members didn't take over his stage once so clearly he's still the more indicated person for dealing with other countries and Russia.

Trump could literally eat a baby on stage and the people that have decided to vote for him won't mind. Anything to #makeamericagreatagain right

EU vs USA-Russia Cold War 2, GO!

I don't know about the whole Trump-Russia conspiracy. There seems to be a lot of evidence showing his ties with Russia, but it completely goes against the other side of Trump that we all know: narcissism. It is totally out of character for him to shill for anybody other than himself. I'm not denying it outright, but it seems strange.

[QUOTE=Pantz Master;50891777]I don't know about the whole Trump-Russia conspiracy. There seems to be a lot of evidence showing his ties with Russia, but it completely goes against the other side of Trump that we all know: narcissism. It is totally out of character for him to shill for anybody other than himself. I'm not denying it outright, but it seems strange.[/QUOTE] I don't think anyone thinks Trump is directly working for Putin or the Russian state, just that he has campaign members and advisers who have worked for them, or have clear sympathy for the Kremlin, and they are pushing him in a pro-Russian direction.