24 Oct The Manchurian Candidate – Part II
“Is Donald Trump the 21st Century’s ‘Robert Shaw’?” – The Lonely Realist
TLR on July 12, 2025 in “The Manchurian Candidate” discussed claims made by former KGB officer Alnur Mussayev and journalist Craig Unger that Donald Trump had been recruited by the KGB in the 1980s and, since then, has been an agent of Russian intelligence – their contention being that Donald Trump has been a “Russian asset.” Those who have scrutinized the claims find them to be a spurious conspiracy theory. The reality today is that the most powerful person on earth, America’s President, a man who has proven himself immune to all possible moral, ethical and legal pressures, has no reason to be a “Russian asset.”
That is not to say that President Trump is not “a reliable friend of Russia.” The President clearly favors Russia, often at America’s expense. The most recent example is President Trump’s efforts to compel a Ukrainian surrender on Vladimir Putin’s terms, an outcome that, among other things, would resuscitate a badly damaged Russian economy.
Being “The Manchurian Candidate” means that the labeled person is the puppet of an enemy state (a term based on the 1962 movie classic of the same name). Donald Trump is no puppet. What then could be the reason for his favoring Russia over the interests of America’s friends and allies? What is the President’s motivation for his consistent pro-Putinism? And why did he choose this moment to go full pro-Russia over Ukraine?
The Ukraine War began on February 24, 2022 with an unsuccessful Russian blitzkrieg that resulted in staggering Russian losses. Russia the pivoted to a war of attrition in which its advantages in men and material were expected to gradually grind Ukrainian forces into submission. Ukraine, however, has made revolutionary advances in modern warfare technology that have turned battlefields into Russian soldier slaughterhouses. Ukrainian forces accordingly have regained previously lost territory and are gradually grinding down the Russian war machine, as was made clear by a recent Institute for the Study of War report: “Ukrainian counteroffensives have liberated at least 1,046 square kilometers [with] Russia’s summer offensive having failed [and] Russia’s fall offensive likely to fail as well.”
Which makes the timing of President Trump’s support of Russia’s war effort surprising. The President first announced on October 9th that the U.S. was waiving sanctions against Russia to purchase Russian diesel fuel: “I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin wherein it was agreed that Russia will immediately supply [millions of] Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American … Marketplace.” Although diesel purchased from Russia will not bring down prices in the U.S., it will inject up to $4.8 billion into a Russian economy starved for capital. President Trump followed on October 11th by proclaiming an “energy cease-fire” between Russia and Ukraine, precisely at a moment when Ukraine was wreaking havoc on Russian energy infrastructure. Because American support is a linchpin of Ukrainian survival, President Zelenskyy promptly suspended Ukraine’s attacks on Russian targets. Russia, however, treated the President’s message as an opportunity. It successfully struck Ukrainian energy sites, rejecting any talk of a cease-fire. President Trump’s reaction was not to castigate Russia for breaching his “energy cease-fire” or to sympathize with Ukraine for the damage to its energy facilities. He instead blamed Ukraine for America’s increasingly expensive fuel prices and launched a personal attack on Volodymyr Zelenskyy, urging Ukraine to get a “new president.” And then Elon Musk on October 14th (reportedly after speaking with President Trump) hobbled Ukraine’s Starlink and Starshield connectivity, which degraded defensive capabilities and resulted in increased civilian casualties and serious damage to Ukraine’s energy grid.
But there’s more!
Although the President two weeks ago signed into law the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, he this week waived sanctions against Russia mandated by that law and announced that America will further aid the Russian economy by removing sanctions on the “Russian shadow fleet” of oil tankers.
Why is America making every effort to aid the Russian war effort and save the Russian economy? These apparently are President Trump’s goals and that’s the reality whether Donald Trump indeed is The Manchurian Candidate, or because he wants to complete the multiple business deals that the Russians have offered (involving Nord Stream gas pipelines, mineral mining in the Arctic, Russian assets frozen in European banks, etc.), or because of his personal admiration for Vladimir Putin (a man who, per Steve Witkoff, is a true “humanitarian”), or for any of several other reasons.
President Trump clearly prefers Putin and Russia over Zelenskyy and Ukraine. Perhaps the President truly believes Putin when he says that it was Zelenskyy who started the War, the President previously saying “You don’t start a war against someone 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles.” Moreover, President Trump in his televised confrontation with Zelenskyy in February 2025 accused Ukraine of “gambling with World War III.” Allying with Russia would eliminate the Russian nuclear risk. Yet that doesn’t explain why the President is taking action now. The President, after all, withdrew support from Ukraine shortly after he took office in January 2025. Why did he decide that now is the time to force a Ukrainian capitulation?
Some argue that the President’s actions are integral to the foreign policy approach outlined in America’s 2025 National Security Strategy. One of the goals of that Strategy is to prevent a closer Russian-Chinese partnership and reconciling with Russia would be a step in that direction since the U.S. and Russia could be natural partners in cornering and controlling fossil fuel production (including from the Middle East). Another expressed goal of the Strategy is to oppose “civilizational suicide” of the sort practiced by Germany, France and other European nations. A further theme of the Strategy is to favor spheres of influence, the Western Hemisphere being America’s (the “Donroe Doctrine”), Southeast Asia being China’s, and Europe being Russia’s…, and Ukraine would be Russia’s first domino. Although some commentators have speculated that the President’s recent pro-Russia stance may be a quid pro quo for Russian and Chinese support against Iran, that’s a stretch since there are no actions Russia and China might take that could ensure America victory or that could compensate America for Russian control of Eastern Europe.
All of which supports, but does not explain, why Donald Trump indeed is “a reliable friend of Russia.”
Finally (from a good friend)
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