Trump, Russians and Parrusos

1. The day after the National Day, we went on an excursion to Perpignan. We went to see the Visa pour l'Image exhibitions, scattered throughout various venues in the city center. This showcase of the best international photojournalism features a handful of impressive images from the last year. Naturally, the destruction in Gaza, in the black and white of the ashes, and the color images of the devastation in Ukraine are goosebump-inducing. On the way out, in the Convent of the Minims, we entered the exhibition shop. I picked up a book, in French, by Régis Genté, a journalist specializing in the former Soviet republics. The cover is a drawing of a completely identifiable blond-haired tofa wearing a tie bearing the Russian flag. The title makes it clear who he's talking about: Our man in WashingtonAnd the subtitle focuses us on the most current topic: "Trump Inside the World of Russians."

2. The relationship between the US president and Russia smells very bad. Since Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin at the Alaska summit just a month ago, Russian attacks in Ukraine have escalated. For the first time, a government headquarters in Kiev was attacked, offensives on the front lines have intensified, the GPS of von der Leyen's plane was defaced mid-flight, and, in the height of provocation, last week some twenty Russian drones violated Polish airspace. And Trump? Nothing he announced after exposing Putin in Alaska has come to fruition. No second peace summit, no ceasefire, no Putin-Zelensky meeting, nothing like it. Donald Trump is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, but, for now, Putin is playing it cool. What's more, this weekend Trump went out of his way to downplay the drones over Poland and scolded Zelensky for "starting a war" without being sufficiently prepared or having enough ammunition. Seriously, Trump wants to rewrite how it all began now.

3. But what are Trump's ties to Russia that have him tied up and tied down? Régis Genté explains this from various angles. Trump's first historical contact with the Russian/Soviet secret services dates back to the 1970s. In his early days as a real estate developer in New York, the KGB welcomed him to Moscow with the intention of building Trump Tower. There, more than a recruitment operation for the American businessman, a connection of affinity was established. As a result of this relationship, Genté explains how on various occasions when Trump has become entangled in real estate deals, there has always been some Russian investor—call him a mobster, call him an oligarch—who has bailed him out by buying apartment lots or participating in projects that seemed doomed. The book, full of data, anecdotes, and examples, also attempts to demonstrate Trump's ideological coherence with the Kremlin's geopolitical agenda. He questions NATO, belittles Western allies, devalues liberal democracies, and, above all, praises authoritarian governments. He also explains more well-known episodes, such as the interference of Russian intelligence in disrupting Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign through hacking that led to the publication of her emails. And, finally, such lukewarmness in ending the invasion of Ukraine characterizes Trump as "a man of Russia."

4. Trump preaches salt and sells vinegar. We see it in Ukraine, Gaza, and also in the United States, where his popularity is declining, including among Republicans, due to all the information being published about the Epstein case and their relationship. What can we expect from a man who uses his signature to draw a Russian parrot on a birthday greeting for a pedophile friend of his? Will the murder of Charlie Kirk, a good collaborator, be enough of a smokescreen for the calligram of shame?