President Donald Trump broke yet another norm today. He thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for expelling more than 700 U.S. diplomats from Russia. All day long, on twitter, and cable news, analysts — some expert and many not — were asking if Trump is a)now providing definitive proof that he is a Putin’s puppet b)an ignoramus about the value of the American foreign service c)not looking out for American interests, d)looking a like a man who Putin is blackmailing or or d)a combination of all a, b, c and d.

After having spent almost six years living in New Delhi, Madrid and visiting other cities as freelance overseas foreign correspondent in the 1970s for papers such as the Chicago Daily News and The Christian Science Monitor, I wonder if it’s all of the above. Any other President would have stuck up for American diplomats who’ve dedicated their lives to protecting the United States. While overseas, diplomats were often some of my “analyst says” sources and were among the most hardworking, thoughtful and dedicated Americans that I had ever met.

Trump essentially showed contempt for American diplomats:

President Trump said here Thursday that he is “very thankful” to Russian President Vladimir Putin for expelling hundreds of U.S. diplomats from Russia, because he said it helps him cut the U.S. government’s payroll.

Addressing for the first time Putin’s decision late last month that the U.S. Embassy and consulates in Russia would have to cut 775 diplomatic and technical staffers, Trump told reporters that he sees no reason for them to continue working in Russia.

“I want to thank him because we’re trying to cut down our payroll, and as far as I’m concerned I’m very thankful that he let go a large number of people because now we have a smaller payroll,” Trump said. “There’s no real reason for them to go back. I greatly appreciate the fact that we’ve been able to cut our payroll of the United States. We’re going to save a lot of money.”

Trump’s answer was a tad tongue-in-cheek, but he gave no clear indication that he was joking or trying to be facetious in offering his gratitude to Putin.

The bottom line is this: Trump will never criticize Vladimir Putin and if he seems to do so, he cushions it with a qualifier. He treats him like he’s his best bud — or boss.

photo credit: FolsomNatural PutinPuppet via photopin (license)

JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief

Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.

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