A Russian asset: Trump’s policy behavior confirms evidence he was groomed by the Kremlin since the 1980s

The “Kyiv Independent” published an explosive interview on February 26 that torched any lingering doubt about President Donald Trump’s deep ties to Russian intelligence

Posted by Insights | Mar 8, 2025

Excerpt: "Many Americans once dismissed reports of #Trump’s ties to Russian intelligence as wild conspiracy theories. Yet [#CraigUnger]’s findings, presented in his books 'House of Trump, House of #Putin' and '#AmericanKompromat,' outline a consistent chain of events stretching back more than 40 years.

"Soviet operatives, later replaced by Russian #oligarchs, funneled suspicious cash into Trump’s real estate deals and played upon his narcissistic vanity. Over time, the strategy shaped Trump’s worldview to align seamlessly with the Kremlin’s long-term interests. Today, Russia reaps enormous gains as the White House methodically undermines Western unity, weakening NATO, and eroding confidence among America’s most vital allies.

"The pattern was on full display during Trump’s U.N. address, where he castigated Ukraine for 'bringing its troubles on itself' and chided Europe for failing to 'handle its own backyard.'

"In those remarks, he reversed decades of bipartisan consensus that the United States should confront unprovoked aggression in Europe. Instead of backing a nation under siege, Trump effectively blamed Kyiv’s government for the devastation wrought by Russian firepower.

"Putin’s state media wasted no time broadcasting those segments, painting the U.S. president as an enlightened leader who recognizes the Kremlin’s alleged right to expand its sphere of influence.

"Unger’s new revelations sent shockwaves through Washington circles. Once portrayed by supporters as a patriotic firebrand, Trump now looks more like a Trojan horse carefully cultivated by Russian intelligence. The journalist’s interview with the Kyiv Independent highlighted key phases of infiltration: financial bailouts for Trump when U.S. banks shunned him, orchestrated praise from Russian figures, and direct contact with individuals linked to the KGB’s successor services.

"The result, Unger insisted, was a president whose foreign policy systematically furthers Moscow’s objectives — even if he never receives direct orders. In intelligence parlance, that is the very definition of an 'asset.'

"Those who scoff at the notion that a sitting U.S. president could be co-opted by a foreign power willfully ignore reams of evidence. Unger references KGB files showing that Soviet handlers identified Trump’s egotism and business desperation as exploitable weaknesses. They recognized that lavish deals, flattery, and carefully timed loans could bind him to Russian interests."

Read more:
https://www.acom/explainers/russian-asset-trumps-policy-behavior-confirms-evidence-groomed-kremlin-since-1980s/

#ChristoFacists #ChistoFascism
#RussianOrthodoxChurch
#AntiGBLTQ #AntiImmigrant
#Gilead #AntiWoke #TrumpIsARussianAsset

The unexpected relationship between U.S. #evangelicals and #RussianOrthodox

Under #Trump and #Putin a strange alliance gets stranger.

by John P. Burgess, August 15, 2018

Except: "The alliance between the Russian Orthodox Church and the #BillyGraham Evangelistic Association has been especially significant. In 2015, #Metro­politanHilarion invited Franklin Gra­ham to Moscow, where he had private audiences with #PatriarchKirill and Putin. Graham later thanked the patriarch for the Russian Orthodox Church’s 'strong voice in the defense of moral values' and lauded Putin for defending biblical values 'from the attacks of secularism.' Graham further asserted that many Americans wished that someone like Putin could be their president, and he praised Russia for passing #antigay propaganda laws.

"The visit bore more than rhetorical fruit. Graham announced that Samari­tan’s Purse, a ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, would cooperate with the Russian Orthodox Church in providing material assistance to people fleeing violence and war in eastern Ukraine, where Russia has supported an insurgency against the U.S.-supported Ukrainian government."

Read more:
https://www.christiancentury.org/features/unexpected-relationship-between-u-s-evangelicals-and-russian-orthodox

#ChristoFacists #ChistoFascism #RussianOrthodoxChurch #AntiGBLTQ #AntiImmigrant #Gilead #AntiWoke #UkraineInvasion #RussianPropaganda

U.S. evangelicals, Russian Orthodox, and the ecumenism of political opportunity

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The Christian Century
G.V. (@gv12997189)

I’m hearing this question often enough that I decided to post my answer here — now I can copy and paste a link vs writing out my answer each time. Most importantly: there are minds far smarter than mine answering and expounding on this question (see the footnote for sources), but sometimes it takes hearing things a particular way in order for them to click. If this clicks for you, I’m glad. . Question What is the Trump administration’s objective in all of what they’re doing to destroy the United States government and economy right now? . My Answer Personal opinion based on the work of experts and observers I trust: their objective is less "destroying" the country and more with "re-ordering" it. Who has means and who does not; who has rights and who does not; who has power and who does not; how decisions, laws, and decrees get made. The reordering of the administrative and financial systems for the benefit of the people at the top (especially anyone/anything having to do with cryptocurrencies) is just one aspect. . The crucial thing to understand is that there are at least three groups with agendas (and, interestingly, they each have an attendant tome): . 1 - the global power-play agenda (Putin and his global "zones of influence" plan as outlined in Project Russia — with Xi, Kim, Orbán, and other notable autocrats firmly having Putin’s back); . 2 - the technoligarchy and their Network State agenda; and . 3 - the white Christian nationalist/Christian Zionist/Heritage Foundation/Project 2025 agenda. . There are overlaps between groups -- for example Peter Thiel, tech billionaire and wannabe-Dark-Enlightenment-overlord, has ties to both Project Russia and Opus Dei/fundamentalist Catholicism. . There are overlaps in agendas -- for one, the objectives of the Network State project are aligned with/complimentary to Putin's Project Russia. So for now, it behooves all of these agenda-having camps to play together, and it will so long as their goals are aligned. . For us, the folks on the ground who aren't voluntarily part of any of these agendas and who aren't best served by any of them either, what this would mean is a complete reorganizing of how the country and the world as a whole are put together. They haven't gotten far enough yet for it to be out of our hands, but there needs to be a major shift in what people know and understand about what is going on and what we can do collectively to rise up against it and throw sand in the gears. . Some good resources on the agenda groups above (not vouching for the subjects’ positions on anything other than the subjects I’m citing them as sources for here): (1) @Olga Lautman, @masha gessen, @Dave Troy, @Claire Berlinski, @Timothy Snyder, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Dina Khapaeva, Marietje Schaake, @Sarah Kendzior, @Yanis Varoufakis, @Maria Ressa, Anne Applebaum (2) @Gil Duran, Dave Troy, Jenny Cohn, Raymond Craib, Yanis Veroufakis, David Gerard, Karen Hao, Adam Becker (3) Jenny Cohn, Bruce Wilson, Gareth Gore, Katherine Stewart, @Brad Onishi, Andy Kroll (all of the above / relevant to multiple agendas) @Heather Cox Richardson, @Jared Yates Sexton, Jack Bryan, @Grace Blakeley, Jason Stanley

Substack

#TheMoment Elbows Up became a rally cry against Trump
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6678330

* response to Trump tariffs
* Canadian actor Mike Myers started a movement by pointing to his elbow & mouthing the words 'elbows up' dur. appearances on SNL
* phrase caught on, becoming rallying cry in trade war

#TransLivesMatter
#Canada #SovereignNation #ElbowsUP #never51 #CanPol #tariffs #BuyCanadian #hockey #GordieHowe #MrHockey
#Trump #fascism #Trumpism #traitors #Poilievre #Gretzky #Chistofascism #transgenocide

#TheMoment 'Elbows Up' became a rally cry against Trump

In response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, Canadian actor Mike Myers may have started a movement by pointing to his elbow and mouthing the words 'elbows up' during appearances on Saturday Night Live. The phrase has caught on and has become a rallying cry in the trade war.

CBC
The 'Texas Three-Step': Defund, Demonize, and Privatize Public Schools

Vouchers become subsidies for families who had already decided to pay for private school, at the expense of public schools that must serve all students.

The Texas Observer
Oklahoma rules publicly funded religious school is unconstitutional

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled that the approval of what would be the nation's first state-funded Catholic charter school is unconstitutional. The court decided Tuesday that the contract between the state and St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School must be rescinded. Oklahoma's Attorney General warned the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board last year not to approve the contract. But the board voted 3-2 to approve the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City's application. In its application, the Archdiocese said its vision would be to evangelize students. A group of parents, faith leaders and a public education nonprofit sued to stop the establishment of the school.

AP News

Trump2/MAGA Plan to Destroy 14th Amendment
https://newrepublic.com/post/190108/maga-destroy-fourteenth-amendment-trump

* U.S. Constitution
* guarantees all Americans something Republicans despise: equal protection under the law
* actuation of Project 2025 will bring broad rollbacks in civil rights
* causing disproportionate pain to women, members of 2SLGBTQIA+ community

#USpol #Trump2 #GOP #fascism #authoritarianism #Project2025 #14th
#billionaires #Musk #Zuckerberg #disinformation #hatred
#ChristianRight #antiLGBT
#Chistofascism #transgenocide

The MAGA Right’s Plan to Destroy the Fourteenth Amendment

It’s the part of the Constitution that guarantees all Americans something Republicans despise: equal protection under the law.

The New Republic

Charter Schools Push Right-Wing Indoctrination at Taxpayer Expense
https://truthout.org/articles/charter-schools-push-right-wing-indoctrination-at-taxpayer-expense

* spread conservative ideology, Christian nationalism
* fast-growing sector of charter school industry engaged in indoctrination
* schools instructing children in white, conservative ideology

#USpol #Trump2 #GOP #fascism #Project2025
#billionaires
#PublicEducation #SchoolChoice #SchoolVouchers #PrivateSchools #CharterSchools #HillsdaleCollege
#ChristianRight #antiLGBT #Chistofascism #transgenocide

Charter Schools Push Right-Wing Indoctrination at Taxpayer Expense

A “new breed” of charter schools is spreading conservative ideology and Christian nationalism.

Truthout
How Trump could embolden plans for more Christianity in US schools

Conservative lawmakers across the U.S. are pushing to introduce more Christianity to public school classrooms, testing the separation of church and state. The efforts come as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office pledging to champion the First Amendment right to pray and read the Bible in school. While the federal government is explicitly barred from directing states on what to teach, Trump can indirectly influence what’s taught in public schools and his election may embolden state-level activists. With the help of judicial appointees from Trump’s first term, courts have begun to bless the notion of more religion in the public sphere, including in schools.

AP News

120 Anti-LGBTQ Bills Filed Across U.S. Before 2025 Starts 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈
https://truthout.org/articles/nearly-120-anti-lgbtq-bills-filed-across-the-us-before-2025-has-even-started

* far surpasses 80 bills filed this time in 2023
* sig. another hist. wave of legal transgenocidal attacks

Erin Reed | Erin In the Morning | Legislative tracker 🙏
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erin_Reed_(journalist)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NfY8VvrUNQKX77CXilxlE1pepRSGTMZ70LoyFwx6fbk

ACLU tracker: https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights-2024

Movement Advancement Project: https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps

#ChristianRight #Chistofascism #Catholicism #OpusDei #transphobia #transgenocide #antiLGBT #Trump2 #GOP

Nearly 120 Anti-LGBTQ Bills Filed Across the US Before 2025 Has Even Started

This far surpasses the 80 bills filed by this time in 2023, signaling another historic wave of legal attacks.

Truthout