Jonathan Katz and Joel Rubin: Trump is Putin’s Trojan horse hiding in plain sight

The recent disclosure that Donald Trump has allegedly been speaking to one of America’s most dangerous adversaries, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the lead-up to our presidential election raises serious questions again about his judgment and fitness to be commander in chief and the danger he would pose to America’s security, if elected.

The revelations about the former president’s dealings, as reported in Bob Woodward’s soon to be released book “War,” are a chilling reminder of how Trump would put our nation’s democracy and security at risk if he wins this year. His reported continued contact with Putin following his election loss in 2020, including after Russia’s illegal 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which he neither made public nor shared with the Biden-Harris administration, highlights the dangerous game that both men are playing. We should be concerned that Trump is undermining U.S. national security for his own personal gain.

Here is how Trump and Putin are playing their game: Trump repeatedly praised Putin, including right after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He then urged Putin to attack our NATO allies and echoed Kremlin talking points on Ukraine.

In return, Putin, Russia and their proxies are incentivized to interfere in the 2024 elections through covert means, influence operations and disinformation. They did this in 2016 and 2020, each time with the goal of helping Trump. Remember, during the 2016 presidential campaign, then-candidate Trump said “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing.” He asked for Putin’s help and got it.

Then, with Trump serving as president, he sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence officials about Russian election interference, giving Putin a pass for undermining our democracy. He also shared sensitive U.S. intelligence with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak during their White House visit in 2017. At this meeting, which came just a day after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, he told the Russian officials in the Oval Office, “I just fired the head of the FBI. He was crazy, a real nut job. I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off … I’m not under investigation.’”

The history of this relationship is extensive, well documented and deeply troubling. And one thing is clear: Trump is a Trojan horse for Russia. But instead of being hidden, his partnership with Putin is there for all of us to see.

And what did Trump do with his purported direct access to Putin? Clearly little to nothing to advance America’s national security interest. In fact, while we do not know the full extent of what he discussed with Putin, we do know some of the results. Not once over the past four years has he openly called on Putin to desist from his repeated threats to use nuclear weapons against the West, instead blaming the U.S. and President Biden for Russia’s belligerence, including the war in Ukraine. And not once has he publicly confronted the war criminal Putin and demanded an end to his brutal and illegal war against Ukraine.

Trump policy positions on Ukraine align with Putin’s interests, now threatening during his presidential campaign to cut off U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, arguing unconvincingly that this would end the war within 24 hours. But his plan to end the war is a mirage and his capitulation to Putin would only reward its aggression, possibly forcing Ukraine to hand over illegally seized Ukrainian territory to Russia as proposed by Trump’s Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance.

The truth is that handing Putin a victory in Ukraine, along with Trump’s threats to weaken NATO, would put our own national security at risk. It impacts allies, such as Poland, Nordic and Baltic States, who could be the next targets in Putin’s crosshairs. They are concerned about U.S. support, as Trump has raised doubts whether or not he would come to the defense of NATO allies, despite treaty obligations.

All Americans should be concerned about the Trump-Putin relationship and its impact on our security before the November election. They deserve to know what Trump spoke about with Putin in these calls. Without that knowledge, we can only assume the worst. Americans deserve to have a president who is a patriot, someone who is honest and transparent and ready fight to ensure our security, sovereignty and independence.

Our great democracy is not a bargaining chip for Trump’s personal gain.

Jonathan Katz served as the deputy assistant administrator for Europe & Eurasia at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Joel Rubin, a Pittsburgh native, served as the deputy assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Both served in the Obama administration.