What could Trump actually do for Putin, if he wanted to do the fellow a solid?
1. The absolute #1 favor would be stop or at least curb fracking in the US. In order for Russian economy to do well, the oil price needs to stand at $105-110 per barrel. The absolute disaster point for Russia is if it drops to under $30.
The current price is $65. It’s bad but not the end of everything that Putin cares about. The only thing right now that can bring it lower is the US fracking.
2. The second best thing Trump could do for Putin is to say something to the effect that “it’s time to accept that the Crimea is part of Russia.” And please don’t think this is minor. This single statement would cause enormous upheaval and a lot of really bad shit happening. And unlike curbing fracking, this is not unrealistic.
Of course, it would be an absolute dream come true for Putin if Trump asked him to sit down and divide spheres of influence in the world between the two of them but that’s a total pipe dream, so it’s ridiculous even to discuss.
3. What else? Well, it would give some fleeting pleasure to Putin if Trump got himself impeached. But the practical value of that would be nil.
Trump would please Putin if he performed some public act of contrition, recognizing the [completely imaginary] harm that the US has done to Russia. But yet again, anybody who knows anything about Trump can see that this is not happening.
4. Create some massive instability in the US. Something like a major economic collapse, starving crowds roaming the streets, etc. Again, zero practical value for Putin but it wouldn’t be unpleasant for him to watch.
I can’t think of anything else because the previous administrations have already given him everything else.
This is where you look if you want to find out whether he’s trying to repay some debt he consciously contracted.
Clarissa's Blog 
Or just an idiot who’s in over his head–still a better foreign-policy President than Obama ever was.
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Obama never made any foreign policy moves that brought the stock market down, as Trump did this week. Your comment only makes sense in the light of ODS.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/527154/
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Incompetence and downright unfitness are not evidence of active and conscious collusion. Which is what I’m discussing here.
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His refusal to enforce the anti-Russian measures passed by Congress is already out there. Don’t know why you’d need several hypothetical situations when the truth is already out there.
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It’s exactly like what Obama was doing.
I listed what the real evidence would look like. My list is based on a very detailed knowledge of the situation in Russia. If you want to disbelieve it, that’s your prerogative. But I have no interest in arguing about this with people who are not as informed about the subject as I am and don’t even speak Russian.
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