Is Putin the smartest guy in the room? Is he playing Trump (and the Trumpies) as idiots?

I am so disgusted by this I need to walk away from the computer.

I think some of this is misinformation. Not saying that this specific news is. The spin doctors have done well, with what they have to work with. They’re making lemonade. I don’t know what to trust anymore. I trust Putin and Trump to do what is best for them, and a small amount of billionaires, regardless of the cost to billions of people….

To the q, I would think Putin is better than Trump, at almost everything… Not hard to do though…

If you’re asking if I think Putin is smarter than Trump, then yes, without any shred of doubt.

Putin worked himself up from being the youngest child of a factory worker and a navy conscript to the, arguably, undisputed master of Russia.
And he did not need a “small loan of a million dollars” to do that.

Putin is thick as two short planks, Trump is too dumb to even know he is.

If the room has Trump and Putin in it, Putin is the smartest guy in the room.

Of course he is. Trump is the short route to what Putin wants, and he’ll be unceremoniously discarded when he’s supplied it. A nice taste of payback for Trump, or would be, if it weren’t so bad for the rest of us.

It would make sense for Putin to have a transcript. It would, in fact, make sense for him to have a recording. And, again, it would almost be hilarious for him to “prove” (as if the Russians didn’t have some fine technology for tape doctoring) that Trump didn’t release sensitive information that Trump says he did.

This show is a long way from over. And it’s got the one thing Trump believes in: ratings.

I just rewatched All the President’s Men last night for its ironic relevance (and its romantic optimism). Almost made me nostalgic for the days of good, honest domestic crime. And punishment.

There used to be a measure of shame involved, even at the top of the unscrupulousness heap.

Is Putin the smartest guy in the room?
Generally, depending on the room.

Is he playing Trump (and the Trumpies) as idiots?
Yes.

Is Putin just rubbing salt in the Trump wound?
No.

Would you believe Putin?
About what? In general, I would be interested in what he says, but certain that truthfulness is not is topmost priority. I’d believe Putin sooner than Trump on most subject, but that’s not saying much as I tend to assume almost everything Trump says is hogwash or at best an indication of what direction he’s liable to mess things up in next.

Yes. But then depending on the room the bar can be pretty low.