Ukraine War Update EXTRA - Putin's Recent Trolling of Donald & Melania Trump
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Table of Contents 📖
Hello Team
🎦 00:00-00:11⏩
Jonathan welcomes viewers to an "ATP Geopolitics" extra video, a "bit of a nugget" that will delve into geopolitical analysis.
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Putin's Trolling of Donald Trump Regarding Melania
🎦 00:11-02:03⏩
Jonathan discusses how Vladimir Putin appears to be trolling Donald Trump, a pattern he believes is regular. He cites Trump's public comments after a phone call with Putin, where Trump stated Putin said "they respect your wife a lot" and "they like Melania better," causing Trump to ask, "what about me?". Jonathan questions if Putin's statement is a subtle dig that Trump doesn't comprehend.
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Russian State TV Airing Nude Photos of Melania Trump
🎦 02:03-05:23⏩
- Jonathan points out that Putin's supposed compliment about Melania needs to be understood in the context of how Russian state television treats her.
- He references a Snopes fact-check confirming that Russian state TV, specifically '60 Minutes' hosts Evgeny Popov and Olga Skabeyeva, aired nude photos of Melania Trump from her modelling days around the time of the 2024 presidential election.
- Jonathan argues this was a "scandalous" move, a clear "deriding" or "degrading" of Trump's election, sanctioned from the top.
- He explains that this act by Russian state media, which can be seen on Julia Davis's Russian Media Monitor, serves as Putin's way of asserting dominance and control over Trump, with messages like "Never forget we own you or we'll release a compromise."
- Jonathan concludes that Putin's comment to Trump about liking Melania better is likely "tongue firmly in cheek," a way of "taking the piss out of Trump" that Trump is too naive to realise.
Fiona Hill's Analysis on US Diplomatic Amateurism with Russia
🎦 05:23-12:59⏩
- Jonathan introduces Fiona Hill, former Trump National Security Advisor, whom he praises as "absolutely brilliant" and suggests she should be in UK government.
- He refers to an interview she did with Foreign Affairs, highlighting her point about Zelensky's early interactions with Trump in the Oval Office. Hill noted Zelensky should have used an interpreter, as Putin always does despite his good English, to gain time and control the narrative. Zelensky has since adopted this practice.
- Hill also criticised the US for sending unprepared envoys like Steve Witkoff to meetings with Putin without their own interpreters, creating a severe disadvantage and demonstrating "amateur hour" diplomacy.
- Jonathan reinforces Hill's argument that Trump is ill-prepared for meetings with Putin, dismissing the importance of interpreters and expert staff who understand Russia.
- He stresses that while Putin is the central figure in Russia, he operates within a sophisticated system, surrounded by "wily," "knowledgeable" officials like Ushakov, Lavrov, and Kirill Dmitriev, who "know what they're doing" and "drive a hard bargain."
- Trump, however, is "fixated on the one guy himself, on Putin," viewing intermediaries and even his own staff as mere "conduits." This unpreparedness means he often "take[s] on the talking points of Russia."
- Hill explains that translators don't always capture the "nuances" or "menace" in Putin's words, and Trump, only seeking "the vibe," misses these critical subtleties. She recalls a phone call where Trump thought it was "a great conversation," but Hill noted "all kinds of menace in what Putin had said."
- Jonathan further illustrates Trump's inability to grasp deeper meanings by citing an interaction with Friedrich Merz, where Trump fixated on a minor detail rather than the core point about America saving Europeans in WWII. He describes this diplomatic approach as "criminally insane."
Putin's Intentional Mocking of Trump and Melania
🎦 13:18-16:18⏩
- Jonathan reiterates that Putin's comment about loving Melania "gets lost in translation" for Trump. Others around Trump may either not understand it or lack the courage/ideological motivation to explain it.
- He asserts that Putin is "goading, mocking" Trump, and these elements are "just lost on Trump himself."
- Trump then "regurgitates that in public," confirming Putin's successful manipulation, evident in Trump's narcissistic reaction: "what about me? Oh, I guess it's not too bad. They like her more than me."
- Jonathan concludes that this seemingly small incident is a powerful "window into the larger things," demonstrating how Putin "is manipulating Trump, that Trump is putty in Putin's hand." Putin can mock Trump and Melania to his face, knowing Trump will publicly repeat the taunt, failing to grasp the underlying message: "we think that your wife is cheap and we throw salacious pictures of her over state television."
- He stresses that the current US administration is "rank amateurs" when dealing with Russians, who are consistently "taking the piss" in every interaction.
Wrap up
🎦 16:19-16:44⏩
Jonathan explains that this video is being released on Sunday morning as he recorded it yesterday and will be away for his son's football tournament and a multiple sclerosis meeting. He apologises for a potentially late "hits and losses" video but promises this "extra" in the meantime. He signs off, wishing viewers to take care.
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