Reframing the Debate: Is Trump an Active Russian agent?

Yes he is. And if the public and the press feel that way, we can turn the tide.

This is a follow up to the article on The Most Successful Intelligence Operation in History: How Russia Put a Spy at the Top of the World’s Sole Superpower and Is Proceeding to Destroy It and Democracy. Below is a summary of that article:

Summary of the “How Russia Put a Spy at the Top” article

[From The Art of War] The most successful war is the war you never fight. The most successful path to victory is to destroy the enemy from within by deception.

Over the last forty some years, this is precisely what Russia has done to its arch enemy, the United States. Under Vladimir Putin, Russia has completely vanquished the US, not by war, but by relentless spycraft combined with a global propaganda machine.

On January 20, 2025 Russia conquered the US without firing a single shot. The US under Donald Trump now openly sides with Russia against Ukraine, NATO, and the Western world.

Simultaneously, Trump is swiftly destroying American democracy and its economy. This destruction has the effect of also destroying global democracy, given America’s former role as the exemplar of the benefits of democracy and the world’s leading promoter of the spread of democracy.

Destroying an enemy as powerful as the US from within by deception is not easy. Russia used an extremely well-managed, two-pronged long-term strategy: (1) Plant or recruit long-term agents within the enemy who over time rise to positions of high influence, as Trump and others have, and (2) Inject a sophisticated stream of propaganda into the enemy at its weakest points. If the plan succeeds, it leads to election of Russian agents who support Russia over the US and authoritarianism over democracy, a stance that would normally be anathema to most voters in any democracy.

The article then presented evidence about Russia’s pursuit of the first strategy: “Plant or recruit long-term agents within the enemy who over time rise to positions of high influence.” The conclusion was that Trump is an active Russian agent under the continual direction of Russia’s GRU and Putin.

Reframing the debate

The purpose of the “How Russia Put a Spy at the Top” article is to reframe the debate among American citizens and the mainstream press from where it is now on Trump’s behavior, a confused muddle, to the clarity of who Trump really is and how he and Russia are destroying America and democracy. (This omits always Trumpers, the 28% of Republicans who are immune to reason in their current state of fanaticism, due to motivated reasoning.)

Currently the mainstream press engages in descriptive reporting when it reports on WHAT is happening in the Trump administration and WHAT the harmful effects of his many destructive actions will be. The effects fall into several areas: erosion of American democracy, destruction of the American economy, erosion of America’s role in promoting worldwide quality of life and democracy, and siding with the Russians in the Russia/Ukraine war. However, let’s examine the deeper context, beginning with what the American Press Association says about the purpose of journalism.

If “the central purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with the accurate and reliable information they need to function in a free society," then shouldn't the press also provide information on WHY certain events are happening, so citizens can better decide HOW to respond.

In particular, is Trump a Russian agent? If so, that’s an epic investigative journalism conclusion. It would clearly explain WHY he's destroying America's economy, democracy, and siding with Russia. Trump is doing this because he’s a Russian agent would be the frame of every article and news story on Trump’s pattern of destruction. Each would educate readers on WHY Trump is doing what he’s doing.

The result is Americans would see deeper into the truth of the reality they live in and would make better decisions on HOW to stop Trump's behavior, such as by requesting their congressional Republicans to stop supporting Trump's actions and if they don't, voting against them in the midterms.

And that would turn the tide.

If Common Sense reframed a debate, so can we

Common Sense was a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine, first published on January 10, 1776. In a few short months, most adults in the American Colonies had read it. The pamphlet radically reframed the debate about whether the colonies should leave the English empire and the King of England.

Is Donald Trump a Russian agent? Judging by how little that issue dominates the news, social media, and people’s everyday conversations, in the minds of the people and the press, he’s not. He’s just a useful idiot, Putin’s puppet, compromised, or just likes Putin. All this damage he’s causing is just one of the many eccentricities of Trump.

But suppose we could ignite the realization that Trump is a Russian agent whose cover is that of an erratic wealthy businessman who just happened to get lucky in politics and who just happens to like Putin, and that he’s been an agent since 1987. Then the American people and press would behave entirely differently, including Republicans in the Senate and House. Musk would be thrown out and Trump would be impeached in short order and America’s nightmare of falling off the cliff into authoritarianism would be over.

For this approach to be effective, Americans must heed the words Thomas Paine wrote in Common Sense, first published on January 10, 1776:

The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind. Many circumstances hath, and will arise, which are not local, but universal, and through which the principles of all Lovers of Mankind are affected, and in the Event of which, their Affections are interested.

In the early ages of the world, according to the scripture chronology, there were no kings; the consequence of which was there were no wars; it is the pride of kings which throw mankind into confusion. Holland without a king hath enjoyed more peace for this last century than any of the monarchical governments in Europe.

The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth. ’Tis not the affair of a city, a country, a province, or a kingdom, but of a continent—of at least one eighth part of the habitable globe. ’Tis not the concern of a day, a year, or an age; posterity are virtually involved in the contest, and will be more or less affected, even to the end of time, by the proceedings now. Now is the seed time of continental union, faith and honor.

If there is any true cause of fear respecting independence, it is because no plan is yet laid down. Men do not see their way out—Wherefore, as an opening into that business, I offer the following hints; at the same time modestly affirming, that I have no other opinion of them myself, than that they may be the means of giving rise to something better.

Let the assemblies be annual, with a President only. The representation more equal. Their business wholly domestic, and subject to the authority of a Continental Congress.

In the last two paragraphs, followed by more detail, Thomas Paine offered a plan that advocated for democracy over tyranny.

Thomas Paine wrote much more than the above extracts. His pamphlet awoke a nation to the truth about their plight. It reframed the way Americans saw the King of England.

The pamphlet was so enlightening that Edmund Randolph, who later became Virginia’s seventh governor, wrote that “the public sentiment which a few weeks before shuddered at the tremendous obstacles, with which independence was environed, overleaped every barrier.” A reviewer in Connecticut noted “We were blind, but on reading these enlightening words the scales have fallen from our eyes.” Writing in a letter to a friend, a Bostonian said “Independence a year ago could not have been pub-lickly [sic] mentioned with impunity ... Nothing else is now talked of, and I know not what can be done by Great Britain to prevent it.”

The sun never shined on a greater truth

Donald Trump is a Russian agent recruited and cultivated since 1987. Since his second term began on January 20, 2025, he has been actively following orders to destroy American democracy and global democracy as fast as possible. He is also following orders to withdraw US support for Ukraine and destroy the American economy, in order to enable Russia’s victory over Ukraine. These actions are cloaked under a confusing barrage of deceptive distractions, making it difficult to separate the noise (the distractions) from the signal (Trump’s true intentions). No other interpretation of the facts is possible, once “the scales have fallen from our eyes.”

Without this perspective it will be impossible to throw off the yoke of subjugation of the United States to the Russian empire, and democracy will die. Other democracies like Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Poland, the Baltics, Greenland, Canada, and Mexico are next, as well as those in Western Europe where the far-right (covertly aided by Russia) has made sizable gains. Empires never sleep.

For example, consider the Washington Post editorial below:

In a lengthy telephone call with Vladimir Putin last month, Trump abruptly reversed the Biden administration’s policy of isolating the Russian leader over his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Days later, top diplomats met and discussed business opportunities between Russia and United States. Then came the Oval Office meltdown with Volodymyr Zelensky, during which Trump tried to force the Ukrainian president to sign over a huge portion of his country’s future mineral wealth with no security guarantees in return. Trump praised Putin as someone interested in peace, while dismissing Zelensky as having “no cards” to play.

Next, the United States voted at the United Nations against condemning Russia for invading Ukraine, announced it was suspending vital military aid to Kyiv and paused intelligence sharing with the Ukrainian military. The flow of American intelligence had been crucial for pinpointing and targeting Russian troops, tanks and ships.

Trump appears eager for rapprochement with Moscow — but why?

Now we know why. The plain and simple fact is that Trump is an active Russian agent following strict orders to perform all the actions listed, and many more not listed, because they benefit Russia and harm the enemy.

Here’s another example:

Four years ago, American Kompromat asked a similar set of questions: (p6)

Even Trump’s most stalwart Republican supporters had been stunned at the Helsinki summit in July 2018 when, during a press conference, he kowtowed to Putin and accepted at face value Putin’s denial that Russia had interfered in the 2016 US presidential election. Why had Trump thrown American intelligence agencies, all seventeen of them, under the bus and sided with Putin instead? Why did he pull US troops out of Syria—as Putin wished? Why did he cut back on American troops in Germany—as Putin wished? Why did Trump do and say nothing when it was widely reported that Russia was offering bounties to be paid to Afghan troops who killed American Solders?

Again, now we know why.

The tide is beginning to turn

The scales are beginning to fall from a few eyes. Edward Lucas, writing in Foreign Policy, had this to say on March 10, 2025:

A few years ago, it would have looked like mission impossible for even the most capable Russian spy. Divide the United States from its allies? Check. Discredit its normative power (human rights, the rule of law, democracy, altruism)? Check. Weaken U.S. institutions to make further manipulation easier? Check.

One could go on. But it’s simpler to try testing the opposite hypothesis. Name one thing that U.S. President Donald Trump has done since taking office that the Kremlin did not like. Crickets.

But Lucas waffles around the room and can’t quite bring himself to believe that Trump actually is an active Russian agent taking orders from the Kremlin. Such paradigm shifts take time:

The case for motivation and opportunity are easily made. Two retired Russian spies allege that Trump was compromised on his trip to the Soviet Union in 1987 and given the codename “Krasnov.” Trump could well have succumbed to the KGB’s trademark cocktail of flattery and blackmail on that trip. Many other Westerners did. I can also believe that Russia funneled money to Trump in the 1990s to keep his near-bankrupt business empire afloat. I agree that he’s surrounded himself with grifters and oddballs who give spy catchers hives.

But actually running him as an agent? Can you really imagine Trump turning up on time for a clandestine meeting? Remembering where the dead drop is? Filing reports? Using a code book properly? Keeping secrets? Obeying orders? His chaotic, petulant mindset would be a case officer’s nightmare.

The more likely and simpler explanation is that Trump is just what he seems: a Vladimir Putin fanboy—and wildly greedy to boot. He may be an asset to Russia but is not in the formal sense a Russian asset. He admires the Russian president-for-life’s strongman style and the way his regime allows insiders (and Putin himself) to turn power into wealth.

In any case, the result is the same.

That last sentence is the one that matters.

So nice to see the very beginnings of reframing the debate.

How can we accelerate reframing the debate?

It takes people time to change their minds about major viewpoints. For example, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, I remember that for several months I didn’t think the virus was much of a threat. I didn’t need to change my behavior much. I didn’t need to wear a mask. But I took the time to read about it, gave it some thought, and concluded I was totally wrong. From that point forward I minimized public interaction, washed my hands, kept social distance, wore an N95 mask in public, and did everything I could to convince others to do the same. I had awakened.

If the awakening of America to the fact Trump is a Russian agent takes too long, it will be impossible to remove Trump by peaceful means, because free and fair elections, and the rule of law and order, will no longer prevail. American democracy will die. And with it so will democracy around the world.

History will have taken a wrong turn. The forces of populist authoritarianism, led by Russia, China, and the United States will relentlessly take over the world. A dismal, dystopian future will lie ahead for the world’s nine billion people, except for the small groups of ruling elites who manage to claw their way to the top in each country.

This raises a question. How can we accelerate the awakening of America to the truth that Donald Trump is an active Russian agent?