Trump Aligning With Putin Against ISIS Doesn't Make Them BFFs

It should be obvious to even the casual observer that the new American president has something up his sleeve regarding how he engages with the Russian president. Part of that engagement clearly involves curious responses to those who would make observations abut the Russian leader's various sins.In a presidency as volatile as Donald Trump's, this will tend to drive people batty, generating much comment which is, as usual, projected through the lens of what everyone thinks of Trump in the first place. His detractors will wail that he is propping up an evil tyrant in Vladimir Putin; his supporters will insist that there is a method to what others see as madness.So what might that method be?The way to understand Trump is to recognize his main motivating forces. One is a key reason he won, his drive to make decisions based on American interests first, rather than the global dalliances that have distracted us for years. The other is his well-established desire to be viewed as a success.  Continue reading...