\n\n“Consider where Trump and Biden stand on three key issue areas the Kremlin cares deeply about: NATO, political leadership in Ukraine and undermining democracy. Under Trump, there was little daylight between Russia and the United States on these issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even as Trump\u2019s vocal criticisms may have inadvertently strengthened the alliance<\/a>, Trump worked to diminish the influence of NATO, reportedly planning to withdraw from it<\/a> in his second term. As a candidate, Trump had even remarked that, \u201cMaybe NATO will dissolve<\/a>, and that\u2019s OK, that\u2019s not the worst thing in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump also broke with longstanding bipartisan support of Ukraine. During the Trump administration\u2019s first year, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was still a showman<\/a> whose comedy troupe performed patriotic musical numbers with lyrics like \u201cThere\u2019s fog over Brussels and frost in Washington<\/a>\u201d and used a MeToo leitmotif<\/a> comparing Ukraine\u2019s treatment by Russia and the West to a sexual assault. When Zelenskyy beat an incumbent president in a landslide<\/a>, Trump actually withheld military aid<\/a> to Ukraine, sending personal emissaries<\/a> to Kyiv to try to pressure<\/a> and undermine Zelenskyy<\/a> in the eyes of Ukrainians by asking him to \u201cdo us a favor, though<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And both while in office<\/a> and since leaving it, Trump worked tirelessly to cast doubt on the legitimacy of American elections, going to great yet unsuccessful lengths<\/a> to find evidence of fraud in the 2020 presidential contest. Trump makes assertions about American elections<\/a> that echo the Kremlin\u2019s<\/a>, even reciting a trope about voting by \u201cdead souls<\/a>\u201d that comes from 19th century Russian literature. At rallies Trump repeats the same claims he made<\/a> the day of the January 6 attack on the Capitol: \u201cYou don\u2019t concede when there\u2019s theft involved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The truth is that during his administration, Trump\u2019s policy alignment with Putin advanced the aims of Russia\u2019s political elites, who could imagine that the United States was on their side. Their comfort with Trump was evident from the start; Americans may remember that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was warmly received in the White House<\/a> and photographed in the Oval Office<\/a>, while Russian parliament members toasted Trump\u2019s electoral victory in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This comfort evaporated with the election of Biden. And for good reason: from the start, the Biden administration has been at odds with Putin on the issues Putin needs to care about to preserve his own rule<\/a>. After Biden\u2019s election, Russian political elites once again articulated profound, existential anxieties about a renewed United States projecting its power abroad. State television in Russia emphasized the Kremlin will not allow American influence in Ukraine, \u201cregardless of the cost to us, and regardless of the cost to those responsible for it<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Biden White House has taken positions opposite those of the Trump administration on NATO. Biden has insisted on principles of state sovereignty, reaffirming and rebuilding<\/a> the United States\u2019 trans-Atlantic relationships, including strengthening NATO<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Biden took meaningful steps to support Ukraine in defending itself<\/a>. Far from undermining Ukraine\u2019s democratically elected government, the Biden administration has tried to create roadblocks for the Kremlin by getting inside Putin\u2019s decision cycle, declassifying and broadcasting intelligence<\/a> about Russia\u2019s plans to attack Ukraine. Biden exhausted diplomatic channels<\/a> trying to come to a peaceful resolution and worked with allies to prepare a sanctions package<\/a> in advance of a Russian invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And Biden has worked to protect democracy. Unlike Trump, rather than questioning the integrity of contests his party lost<\/a>, Biden has spoken forcefully<\/a> about the close legal scrutiny and fairness of all the 2020 elections. And he has supported congressional efforts to protect the franchise<\/a> in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Trump, Putin had a fellow-traveler. Far from ensuring world peace, the Trump years instead offered Putin a useful pause he utilized to further military readiness<\/a> and prime the Russian population for a hot war<\/a>. Earlier this month, the Russian state adopted new standards for mass graves \u2014 not because of the coronavirus pandemic in Russia, but for situations that involve \u201curban destruction.\u201d”<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Far from deterring Putin, Trump did the opposite. Thanks to Trump, Putin was able to take advantage of a period of apparent detente during which Trump actually pursued Putin\u2019s own policies of weakening NATO and democracy and destabilizing the West \u2014 leaving Putin free to prepare his war against the free people<\/a> of Ukraine and their democratically elected government.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n