Trump has stayed in touch with more foreign leaders than Putin since leaving office

WASHINGTON Former President Donald Trump has kept an eye on foreign policy since leaving the White House, speaking not only to Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he has reportedly spoken seven times since leaving his functions, a revelation that raised eyebrows.

At his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Fla., foreign delegations from Israel and Ukraine sat across from Trump and his campaign aides as if they were holding a bilateral meeting, then shared remarks before a series of news cameras, a setup that evokes some of the trappings of a state visit.

Staying connected to foreign policy allows Trump to assert that he could easily return to power, but it also carries risk for Trump, who has been criticized during his term for his close ties to Russia and complaints about his chatter with other leaders. .

In office, Trump reveled in his one-on-one interactions with other leaders, and he asserted in a speech at a rally Wednesday that open dialogue helped reduce the size of hostile adversaries. Asked about those relationships in a podcast interview, Trump said: “The tougher they were, the better off I was with them, adding that it was a good thing that he got along with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The others are easy to manage, he says.

For years, Trump has maintained that he would end the war in Ukraine, a point that Democratic Party critics say would require Ukraine's total capitulation to Russia. and firing American journalist Evan Gershkovich before he is even sworn in to power again. Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was detained by the Russian government on trumped-up espionage charges and released after the Biden administration negotiated a major prisoner swap.

Trump's insistence that he could have had Gershkovich released has been met with skepticism this year, particularly because US law prohibits civilians from engaging in foreign policy without government permission, and nothing indicated that Trump was communicating with the blessing of the Biden administration.

A new account details his alleged communication with Putin, who, according to journalist Bob Woodwards' upcoming book War, Trump has spoken with since leaving office perhaps as many as seven times, including more earlier this year, when, according to the book, a top aide said they were left loitering outside his Mar-a-Lago office after Trump kicked them out of the room. Trump denounced the narrative as false.

The relationship between Trump and Putin has drawn criticism from its leaders. political opponentsand allegations of phone calls just four weeks after Election Day offered Democrats a hook.

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

Trump has hosted foreign leaders at both of his homes, including recently British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for dinner and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time in five years. At other times, he spoke by telephone, including with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in an impromptu call this spring, or with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, as Iran launched a rain of missiles on Israel.

In a new memoir released Tuesday, Melania Trump opened up about how her family maintained a friendship with the British royal family after the White House and how she exchanges letters with King Charles to this day. At the Republican National Convention this summer, foreign officials courted Trump and his allies with abandon.

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

Trump and Polish President Andrzej Duda met in New York in April as Duda sought to emphasize the urgency of Washington's support for Ukraine.

Trump hosted Netanyahu and his wife Sara, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn, former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and former British Prime Minister David Cameron when he was UK foreign minister.

A U.S. official said that while Trump's meetings with foreign leaders may cause some discomfort, the administration understands the dynamic and recognizes that it regularly meets with opposition leaders in foreign countries and welcomes them into its country.

Some of Trump's contacts, like Orbn or Putin, provide more breathing space.

But for the most part, Trump's twits remain minor irritants and are considered honest provided he refrains from any policy-making.

Other former officials say the conversations are worth it given Trump's standing in the polls.

It's smart to reach out to Republicans. It makes sense to reach out to the Trump world, said Daniel Fried, a senior U.S. diplomat responsible for European affairs under former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He was ambassador to Poland during the Clinton administration.

Among America's European allies, he added, I particularly encouraged them to do so.

Fried said conversations are helpful in overcoming a lot of abrasive rhetoric. And in many cases, they get to the bottom of it, he said, explaining that Trump's former foreign counterparts are making the case to him that they are buying American weapons and doing their part and are not just a gang of parasites.

Keith Kellogg, a Trump foreign policy adviser who would most likely be considered for a Cabinet position if Trump wins, said he advises officials seeking information to simply pick up the phone and put Trump in line. (The Trump campaign has stressed that any discussion of who Trump might nominate for a second term is not definitive.)

However, Fried said Trump's alleged calls with Putin were different. For one thing, Trump never made the alleged calls public, unlike other meetings and conversations that were leaked almost immediately.

If true, it explains why Trump has a stunning confidence in his own abilities to make things right with Putin, a confidence that seems misplaced, Fried said. We know from Putin's relationships with other leaders that he is adept at playing to their desires and fears.

He is not the only one to express his skepticism. It's really strange that a former president, now running for office again, would keep these lines of communication active and open, said Brian Katulis, senior fellow and vice president of policy at the Middle East Institute, especially more considering what he says Trump is. “a poor record in handling highly sensitive classified information.”

Katulis was referring to the trove of classified documents that Trump kept from his time in office that have been the subject of a criminal case, many of which concern his communications with foreign leaders. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

Katulis called it America's counterintelligence officers' worst nightmare and said: Americans serving in America's national security lost a lot of sleep during Trump's first term when he was negligent in sharing classified information with adversaries like Russia. This so-called record, he said, risks causing the death of people.

The allegations in Woodward's book come just weeks before Election Day, but friends and foes alike say they are unlikely to blunt Trump's chances.

In an ordinary election environment, these stories would cause serious damage, he said. In today's America, half the voters will probably shrug their shoulders, and the other half will point their fingers in accusation.

A Trump ally said of the question of whether those connections would register with 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 effective in moving forward intractable situations.

Biden, he 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 got along very well with him; a little hard at first, right? Remember Little Rocket Man? Trump continued. Remember when he said, “I have a red button on my desk?” It was a very threatening sound, I have a red button on my desktop. I said, I have a red button on mine too, but mine is much bigger. Mine works. And then he called me and asked for a meeting, and we had a meeting.

In a statement, Trump's campaign said foreign leaders viewed Trump as ready to return to power and wanted to ensure their ties to him were strong.

World leaders want to talk and meet with President Trump because they know he will soon return to the White House and restore world peace, said Karoline Leavitt, the campaign's national press secretary.

For now, the Trump campaign is not saying much more about the content of its calls. A spokesperson said the campaign had nothing to add after communications director Steven Cheung attacked Woodwards' reports of calls with Putin and said the book contained fabricated stories. The book also details an apparent gift of Covid-19 testing equipment that Trump allegedly gave to Putin during the pandemic, a claim the Kremlin says is true. Trump called the reports false in an interview with Newsmax on Tuesday.