Donald Trump with Vladimir Putin
Donald Trump with Vladimir PutinReuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reelection has drawn significant concern in the USA that if Donald Trump is also reelected, the two leaders will undertake joint ventures that ultimately harm American democracy.

A number of former officials in the USA intelligence community noted that Trump has praised Putin in the past, calling him a ‘genius’ and his declarations that he would attempt to end the Ukraine War by encouraging Putin and defunding NATO.

The officials stated that Trump “is more interested in himself than the United States of America”, did not prepare for meetings, and showed extreme ignorance of foreign policy.

Trump has also not criticized Putin over the sudden death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and trusted Putin’s word over American reports regarding possible Russian electoral interference in 2016.