Opinion | Why Donald Trump’s re-election would make Vladimir Putin very happy

Trump has weakened America and its institutions, looked away as Russia extended its influence in Crimea, Syria, the Middle East and Africa and, crucially, blocks global efforts to decarbonise, buying precious time for Russia’s oil and gas export-dependent economy

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US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, in 2018. Photo: TNS

Published: 1:00am, 11 Mar 2020Updated: 4:09am, 11 Mar 2020

It is well established (outside the White House) that Russian President Vladimir Putin did his best in 2016 to help Donald Trump get elected. It appears that he is at it again.

Recently, American intelligence officials briefed the House of Representatives that Putin’s army of hackers is backing Trump’s re-election. But why would Putin do this? What is in it for him?

Trump likes to boast that he is tougher on Russia than any other US president. His administration has strengthened sanctions intended to punish Russia for its bad international behaviour and approved the transfer of lethal weapons to help Ukraine’s beleaguered troops hold off Russian-backed separatists, among other actions that Russia surely does not like.

After all that, Putin would be crazy to support Trump a second time. Or would he?

Back in 2016, Putin had plenty of reasons to support Trump. The Russian leader is reported to hate Hillary Clinton and wanted to prevent her becoming president. Maybe Putin has dirt on Trump and hoped to use it, Manchurian-candidate-style, to manipulate Trump as president.

Or perhaps Putin simply wanted to throw a spanner in the works of American elections, reinforcing for his compatriots and the world the long-standing Russian argument that American democracy is a mess. (It is hard to argue that it is not.)

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