Since his resignation, Trump has had more contact with foreign leaders than Putin

Washington – Former President Donald Trump has taken an interest in foreign policy since leaving the White House, speaking not just with Russian President Vladimir Putin – with whom he has spoken seven times since leaving office, a revelation that raised eyebrows.

At his home in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida, foreign delegations from Israel and Ukraine sat across from Trump and his campaign team as if they were having a bilateral meeting – then shared comments in front of a series of cameras. news, a setting that was evocative. Some pitfalls of a state visit.

Exploring foreign policy allows Trump to argue he can easily return to office, but it also carries risks for Trump, who faced criticism while in office for his close ties to Russia and the way he interacts with other leaders. .

In office, Trump revealed his one-on-one conversations with other leaders and argued in a speech at a rally on Wednesday that open dialogue helped reduce the size of hostile adversaries. Asked about these relationships in a podcast interview, Trump said: “The more difficult they were, the better I did with them”, adding that it was a good thing he had with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. “Others are easier to manage,” he said.

For years, Trump has argued that he would end the war in Ukraine – a point that Democratic Party critics say would require Ukraine's total capitulation to Russia – and returned American journalist Ivan Gershkovich before he could even be sworn in. Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich was detained by the Russian government on trumped-up espionage charges and later released by the Biden administration. Negotiating a major prisoner exchange.

Trump's insistence that he could free Gershkovich raised questions this year, especially because U.S. law prohibits civilians from getting involved in foreign policy without government permission, and there has been no indication that Trump is reaching out to the Biden administration with the blessing.

A new account details his alleged communications with Putin, who, according to journalist Bob Woodward's upcoming book, “War,” has spoken to Trump since leaving office. Maybe like seven” times, including earlier this year when, says the book, a senior aide said they had to lie down outside his Mar-a-Lago office after Trump kicked them out of the room. Trump denounced the report as “false.”

There was a firestorm of criticism over Trump's relationship with Putin from political opponents, and allegations of phone calls – just four weeks after Election Day – offered Democrats a hook.

But Putin is not the only foreign leader Trump talks to. And it's not uncommon for a presidential candidate to initiate some discussions with foreign leaders.

Trump has invited foreign leaders to both of his homes, including recently British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for dinner and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. For the first time in five years. Other times, he has spoken on the phone, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in an impromptu call this spring, or with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, when Iran fired missiles at Israel.

In a new memoir published Tuesday, Melania Trump detailed how her family maintained friendships with the British royal family after her life in the White House and exchanged letters with King Charles “to this day.” Foreign officials at the Republican National Convention this summer Trump and his allies accept the sacrifice.

After Trump's first assassination attempt in July, foreign leaders rushed to congratulate him. On Truth Social, Trump published a letter he received from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Trump and Polish President Andrej Duda Duda were in New York in April seeking to emphasize the urgency of Washington's support for Ukraine.

Trump received Hungarian Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife Sarah Viktor Orbán, Former Prime Minister of Japan today, and former British Prime Minister David Cameron when he was the United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary.

A U.S. official said there could be a time like this when it comes to annoyance. When it comes to Trump's meetings with foreign leaders, the administration understands the dynamics and recognizes that it regularly meets with opposition leaders abroad and welcomes them to its country.

Some Trump acquaintances, like Orbán or Putin, are more hesitant.

But for the most part, Trump's tete-a-tetes remain minor annoyances and are seen as honest — if he refrains from playing any politics.

Other former officials said the conversations have long been worthwhile given Trump's standing in the polls.

“It’s smart to reach out to Republicans. It’s smart for Trump to reach the world,” said Daniel Fried, the top U.S. diplomat for European affairs under former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He was ambassador to Poland in the Clinton administration.

“I specifically encouraged them to do that,” he added of the U.S.’s European allies.

Fried said the dialogues were helpful in “transcending a lot of hateful rhetoric.” And “in many cases, they are getting into substance,” he said, explaining that Trump’s former foreign adversaries are suing him for buying American weapons and doing their part and “not just a bunch of profiteers.”

Keith Kellogg, a Trump foreign policy adviser who will likely be considered for a Cabinet position if Trump wins, said he advises officials to simply look for information. pick up the phone And put Trump on the line. (The Trump campaign emphasized who Trump would negotiate with could nominate for a second, not final, term.)

However, Fried said, Trump's alleged phone call with Putin is different. For one thing, Trump never disclosed the alleged calls — unlike other meetings and conversations that were publicized almost immediately.

“If true, it explains the possible basis for Trump’s surprising confidence in his own ability to work things out with Putin, a confidence that seems misplaced,” Fried said. “We know from Putin’s relationships with other leaders that he is a master at satisfying his desires and his fears.”

He is not alone in expressing doubts. “It's really strange that a former president, now running again for office, would keep these lines of communication active and open,” said Brian Cutulis, senior fellow and vice president for policy at the Middle East Institute, adding to what he called “ very sensitive rating.” Poor record of information management.”

Katulis was referring to the trove of confidential documents that Trump has kept since his time in office and that have become the subject of a criminal case, many of which deal with his contacts with foreign leaders. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

Katulis called it “a U.S. counterintelligence officer's worst nightmare” and said, “Americans working in U.S. national security lost a lot of sleep during Trump's first term when he was careless in sharing sensitive information with adversaries like Russia.” This supposed record, he said, “runs the risk of killing people.”

The allegations in Woodward's book come weeks before Election Day, but friends and foes alike say they don't appear likely to dampen Trump's prospects.

“In a general election environment, these stories would do serious damage,” he said. “In today’s America, half the voters will likely shrug their shoulders and the other half will point their fingers in complaint.”

One Trump ally said of the possibility of registering ties to voters: “The people we’re trying to reach don’t even know who Woodward is.”

Speaking at a rally this week, Trump defended his dialogue with hostile leaders and said it was helpful in getting out of a difficult situation.

“Biden said, 'Oh, it's a difficult situation in North Korea,'” Trump said, contrasting with his successor and adding that for him it was “not a problem.”

“I was very good to him; A little difficult at first, isn't it? Remember Little Rocket Man? Trump continued. “Remember when he said, 'I have a red button on my desk?' The dreaded words were: 'There's a red button on my desk.' I said, 'I also have a red button, but mine is too big. My work. And then he called me and asked to have a meeting, and we had a meeting.”

In a statement, the Trump campaign said foreign leaders believe Trump is ready to return to office and want to ensure their relationship with him is strengthened.

“World leaders want to talk and meet with President Trump because they know he will soon return to the White House and restore peace around the world,” said Carolyn Levitt, national press secretary for the campaign.

For now, the Trump campaign is not saying much about the content of his call. A spokesperson said the campaign had “nothing to add” after communications director Steven Cheung attacked Woodward’s accounts of alleged ties to Putin and said the book contained “made-up stories.” The book details an apparent gift of Covid-19 testing equipment that Trump allegedly gave to Putin during the pandemic, the Kremlin's claims are true. Trump called the reporting “wrong” in an interview with Newsmax on Tuesday.