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![]() 80 times Trump talked about Putin
By Andrew Kaczynski, Chris Massie, and Nathan McDermott CNN Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump consistently broke from political orthodoxy in his effusive praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin. His glowing statements on Putin have become central in stoking the suspicion that he and his campaign were somehow connected to Russian interference in the election. A CNN KFile review of Trump’s public statements — from the years immediately before his presidential campaign to present — reveal that Trump has contradicted himself over the years about the nature of his relationship with Putin. Since 2013 — when Trump’s Miss Universe pageant was held in Moscow — Trump has at least nine times claimed to have spoken to, met, or made contact with Putin. But as the 2016 campaign wore on and his statements on Putin began to attract more scrutiny, Trump changed course, denying having ever met the Russian president. “I never met Putin,” Trump said at a July 2016 news conference. “I don’t know who Putin is. He said one nice thing about me. He said I'm a genius. I said thank you very much to the newspaper and that was the end of it. I never met Putin.” June 18, 2013 Trump tweets: Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrumpDo you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow - if so, will he become my new best friend? Sept. 13, 2013 Trump praises Putin for his criticism of the term “American exceptionalism:” “You think of the term as being fine, but all of sudden you say, what if you’re in Germany or Japan or any one of 100 different countries? You’re not going to like that term,” Trump told CNN. “It’s very insulting and Putin really put it to him (Obama) about that.” Sept. 16, 2013T rump notes he’s invited Putin to Miss Universe: “So we’ve invited President Putin, that’ll be interesting,” Trump said on “Fox and Friends.” “I know he’d like to go.” Oct. 3, 2013 Trump tells Larry King on Ora TV that Putin has done “a really great job outsmarting our country.” Oct. 17, 2013 Trump tells David Letterman that he’s done “a lot of business with the Russians” and says they are “smart” and “tough” and that they don’t look “so dumb right now.” He calls Putin a “tough guy” and says that he “met him once.” Oct. 18, 2013 Trump says on MSNBC that he invited Putin to Miss Universe: “I know for a fact that he wants very much to come, but we'll have to see. We haven't heard yet, but we have invited him,” Trump said. November 2013Trump says he has a relationship with Vladimir Putin: “I do have a relationship and I can tell you that he’s very interested in what we’re doing here today,” he said on MSNBC of the Miss Universe pageant. “He’s probably very interested in what you and I are saying today, and I’m sure he’s going to be seeing it in some form, but I do have a relationship with him and I think it’s very interesting to see what’s happened.” Nov. 11, 2013 Trump on "Fox and Friends" says of his trip to Moscow for the Miss Universe pageant: “I was in Moscow and I was in Russia and they treated me so fantastically. I met so many incredible people.” Feb. 10, 2014 Trump says Putin contacted him during Miss Universe and was “so nice:” “When I went to Russia with the Miss Universe pageant, (Putin) contacted me and was so nice. I mean, the Russian people were so fantastic to us,” he said on “Fox and Friends.” “I’ll just say this, they are doing – they’re outsmarting us at many turns, as we all understand. I mean, their leaders are, whether you call them smarter or more cunning or whatever, but they’re outsmarting us. If you look at Syria or other places, they’re outsmarting us.” March 3, 2014Amid Russian aggression in Ukraine, Trump tells "Fox and Friends" that Mitt Romney was right about Russia being a “geopolitical foe.” "Well Mitt Romney was so right, and nobody knew how right he was going to be, and you look at Obama's response and just take a look at what's going on," said Trump. "Syria was propped up by Russia. Syria's now back in their fold 100% and that whole deal is coming to an end because Russia's taken over." Trump added, “There are a lot of things we could be doing economically to Russia. Russia is not strong economically and we could do a lot of different things to really do numbers on them if we wanted to.” March 6, 2014Trump tells a crowd at CPAC that Putin sent him a present during Miss Universe with a note and he “spoke to all of his people.” March 13, 2014 Trump tells NBC's "Today" that the US should “definitely do sanctions” against Russia for their aggression in Ukraine. "And we have to show some strength. I mean, Putin has eaten Obama's lunch, therefore our lunch, for a long period of time," he said. "And I just hope that Obama, who's not looking too good, doesn't do something very foolish and very stupid to show his manhood. I just hope that doesn't happen." March 21, 2014 Trump tweets: I believe Putin will continue to re-build the Russian Empire. He has zero respect for Obama or the U.S.! March 24, 2014 Trump tells "Fox and Friends" Mitt Romney was right that Russia was “our biggest problem.” "Well, Mitt was right, and he was also right when he mentioned in one of the debates about Russia, and he said, 'Russia's our biggest problem, and Russia is, you know, really something,'" Trump said. "He said it's a hell of a problem, and everybody laughed at him, including certain media, by the way," continued Trump. "They laughed. It turned out that he's absolutely right. You look at what Russia's doing with Iran, how they controlled the situation, and Syria, and virtually every other place that ... We were thrown out of every place. I'm not saying we should be there. We should rebuild our own schools and our own bridges and highways and everything else. To be scoffed at and thrown around the way we're being thrown around is absolutely unthinkable." April 12, 2014 Trump tells Fox Business’ Eric Bolling that Putin was nice to him during Miss Universe. “We just left Moscow,” Trump said. “He could not have been nicer. He was so nice and so everything. But you have to give him credit that what he’s doing for that country in terms of their world prestige is very strong.” In the same interview, Trump praises Putin’s invasion of Crimea. “Well, he’s done an amazing job of taking the mantle,” Trump said. “And he’s taken it away from the President, and you look at what he’s doing. And so smart. When you see the riots in a country because they’re hurting the Russians, OK, ‘We’ll go and take it over.’ And he really goes step by step by step, and you have to give him a lot of credit.” April 12, 2014 Trump says at a New Hampshire event that Putin is “absolutely having a great time.” He says “Russia is like, I mean they’re really hot stuff” and “and now you have people in the Ukraine — who knows, set up or not — but it can’t all be set up, I mean they’re marching in favor of joining Russia.” April 16, 2014“ Putin is having a great time toying with the President,” Trump says on Fox News’ “Hannity.” April 28, 2014 Trump tweets: Putin has shown the world what happens when America has weak leaders. Peace Through Strength! May 27, 2014 Speaking at the National Press Club, Trump says he spoke “indirectly and directly” with Putin at Miss Universe. ”I own Miss Universe, I was in Russia, I was in Moscow recently and I spoke, indirectly and directly, with President Putin, who could not have been nicer, and we had a tremendous success.” June 20, 2014 Trump tells Jeffrey Lord of the American Spectator that Putin treated him “unbelievably well” during Miss Universe and cites Putin to say the term “American exceptionalism” is a “dangerous term.” “Well, I think it’s a very dangerous term in one way, because I heard Putin saying, ‘Who do they think they are, saying they’re exceptional?’ You can feel you’re exceptional, but when you start throwing it in other countries’ faces or other people’s faces, I actually think it’s a very dangerous term to use,” Trump tells Lord, a CNN contributor. “Well, I heard that Putin was saying to somebody—you know I had the Miss Universe contest over in Moscow recently, six months ago, and Putin, by the way, treated us unbelievably well. And it was at that time that Putin said, ‘Who do they think they are saying they’re exceptional?’ And I understand that. You know, he said, ‘Why are they exceptional? They have killings in the streets. Look at what’s going on in Chicago and different places. They have all of this turmoil, all of the things that are happening in there.’” July 22, 2014 During an appearance on WTOP radio, Trump says that Putin is not yet finished in Ukraine and that “the United States has to take stand.” Trump says Putin has become “quite the terror.” “I think I became much richer because I can understand people and read people and Putin is not finished. Putin has got a long way to go,” Trump says. Nov. 25, 2014Trump tweets: Can you imagine what Putin and all of our friends and enemies throughout the world are saying about the U.S. as they watch the Ferguson riot Dec. 16, 2014 Trump tells Fox News host Neil Cavuto that Putin is like a “wounded animal” due to the Obama administration’s actions against Russia. “We’ve hurt Russia and we’ve done certain things that have really hurt Russia,” he said. “And I don’t know is that a good thing or is that a bad thing? We’ll see what happens.” He added that Putin is “wounded” and that “wounded people and wounded animals can do lots of strange things and we’d better be a little bit careful.” March 18, 2015 Trump tells the Daily Mail about his relationship with Putin: “the relationship is great, and it would be great if I had the position I should have.” Trump also said he received “a gift from Putin – an award and a beautiful letter.” He does not confirm or deny meeting with Putin when asked. June 16, 2015 Trump makes similar comments to Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly. “I was over in Moscow two years ago and I will tell you – you can get along with those people and get along with them well. You can make deals with those people. Obama can’t.” June 18, 2015 Trump answers “yes,” when asked by Fox News' Sean Hannity if he’s had any contact with Vladimir Putin. “So I was there two years ago. We had a tremendous success with the Miss Universe contest in -- I own Miss Universe, Miss USA, all of that, and it does great,” Trump said. “It's on NBC, but that's OK. But it does fantastically well. And two years ago, we had it in Moscow, and it was a tremendous success. And I got to meet everybody. I got to meet all –” When asked if he spoke to him during pageant, Trump responds, “I don't want to say.” Trump says Putin hates Obama and when Hannity asked if Putin told him that, Trump again says, “I don’t want to say.” June 29, 2015 Speaking on Putin, Trump says he “got to know these guys well” during Miss Universe. “I had the Miss Universe over there two years ago,” Trump tells the City Club of Chicago. “I got to know these guys well. We can get along with them well. We can get along with them well.” July 8, 2015 Trump tells CNN’s Anderson Cooper that if he becomes president, Putin would turn over Edward Snowden to the US. “I think I get along with him fine,” Trump said of the Russian president. “I think he would be absolutely fine. He would never keep somebody like Snowden in Russia. He hates Obama. He doesn't respect Obama. Obama doesn't like him either. But he has no respect for Obama. Has a hatred for Obama. And Snowden is living the life. Look if that -- if I'm president, Putin says, hey, boom, you're gone. I guarantee you this.” July 15, 2015 Trump tells Fox News’ Sean Hannity, “Putin has no respect for President Obama, and Obama doesn't like him much either in all fairness.” July 26, 2015 Retweets someone saying Putin will respect him: "@bluestarwindow: @realDonaldTrump @bdean1468 Putin knows that Obama is a danger to the world. Putin will respect President Trump" True! July 30, 2015 During a trip to his golf resort in Scotland, Trump says he thinks he’d get along well with Putin: "I think I'd get along very well with Vladimir Putin, I just think so. "People say 'what do you mean?' I think I'd get along well with him.” Trump also said Putin “hates Obama and Obama hates him, we have unbelievably bad relationships." Aug. 12, 2015 Trump says on Fox News that he would meet with Putin when the Russian president came to New York for the UN General Assembly. “Frankly, I’d get along great with him,” he said. "You gotta get along with these people.” Aug. 14, 2015Trump says he’d get along well with Putin: “I think I’d get along well with Putin. I know many of the people. I had a major event there two years ago in Moscow, as you know. It was a tremendous success. An amazing success. I think I’d get along well with Putin.” Aug. 20, 2015 Trump tells Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo that Putin is “somebody that can be dealt with.” “I actually think that he is somebody that can be dealt with,” he said. “I think his dislike of President Obama is so intense, that it really has affected the whole relationship. We've driven them into the arms of China, so that now these two are together, which is also a been the great sin. Don't ever let Russia and China get together. We've driven them together. I think he is somebody that I would have a very decent relationship with if I ever win.” Aug. 23, 2015 Trump says on Fox News that he’d get along with Putin, citing Miss Universe: “I feel that Putin is somebody I would actually get along with him. I get a lot of heat for that. I had a big event in Moscow about two years ago, I think I would have a good relationship.” Aug. 29, 2015Trump says that Putin “hates Obama,” but that he would get along great with the Russian president. “Putin hates us,” he said. “He hates Obama. He doesn’t hate us. I think he’d like me. I’d get along great with him I think. If you want to know the truth.” Sept. 23, 2015Trump says at a town hall event in Columbia, South Carolina, that he will “get along with Putin.” Sept. 27, 2015 Retweeted someone on Putin’s “brilliance”: "@Apipwhisperer: @MarkPavelich @gentlemanirish@60Minutes EXCELLENT WATCHING PUTIN'S BRILLIANCE AND TRUMP'S. @CBS I LOVED THE INTERVIEWS." Sept. 28, 2015 Trump tells reporters at Trump Tower that “Putin is a nicer person than I am.” Sept. 29, 2015Trump tells Bill O’Reilly that Putin gets an ‘A’ for leadership. "I will tell you that I think in terms of leadership, he is getting an 'A,' and our president is not doing so well," Trump said. "They did not look good together." Oct. 2, 2015 Trump tells Sean Hannity that “Putin has no respect for our president whatsoever.” Oct. 6, 2015 Trump tells conservative radio host Michael Savage he’s met Vladimir Putin. “Yes,” Trump says. “Yes, a long time ago. We got along great, by the way.” Oct. 11, 2015Trump said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that he and Putin had “fantastic ratings on ‘60 Minutes’ together” and again said he thought they’d get along well. "I think the biggest thing we have is that we were on '60 Minutes' together and we had fantastic ratings. One of your best-rated shows in a long time," Trump said. "So that was good, right? So we were stablemates." He added, "I think that I would probably get along with him very well. And I don't think you'd be having the kind of problems that you're having right now.” Oct. 13, 2015 Trump asserted in an interview with the Guardian that Putin was going into Syria to combat ISIS. “He’s going to want to bomb ISIS because he doesn’t want ISIS going into Russia and so he’s going to want to bomb ISIS. Vladimir Putin is going to want to really go after ISIS, and if he doesn’t it’ll be a big shock to everybody,” Trump said. Still, in mentioning Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, he noted that Putin is “an Assad person” and “the United States doesn’t like Assad.” Oct. 14, 2015 Told Bill O’Reilly that Putin was his “stablemate” on 60 Minutes. “Well, you know, I actually hosted it 10 years ago and Lorne Michaels called me up the other day. He said I'd love to have you host and I agreed to it because it's an honor. I did 60 Minutes last week — that was an honor. My stablemate was Vladimir Putin and we did very well.” Nov. 10, 2015 Asked a Republican debate what he would do as president in response to Russian aggression, Trump said, “Well, first of all, it's not only Russia. We have problems with North Korea where they actually have nuclear weapons. You know, nobody talks about it, we talk about Iran, and that's one of the worst deals ever made. … So, we have more than just Russia.” He went on to say, "I got to know (Putin) very well because we were both on ‘60 Minutes,’ we were stablemates, and we did very well that night. But, you know that." “But, if Putin wants to knock the hell out of ISIS, I’m all for it 100% and I can’t understand how anybody would be against that,” he added. Nov. 13, 2015 Trump walks back his Putin stablemate comment, saying his 60 Minutes segment was separate from Putin’s. .@CarlyFiorina I only said I was on @60Minutes four weeks ago with Putin—never said I was in Green Room. Separate pieces—great ratings! Dec. 18, 2015 Trump said on Morning Joe that Putin was a better leader than Obama, and dismissed Joe Scarborough’s allegations that the Russian president “kills journalists that don’t agree with him.” “He’s running his country and at least he’s a leader, unlike what we have in this country,” Trump said. He added: "I think our country does plenty of killing also, Joe, so you know. There's a lot of stupidity going on in the world right now, a lot of killing going on, a lot of stupidity." Dec. 20, 2015 In an interview with ABC’s “This Week,” Trump defends against allegations Putin has ordered the killings of journalists and dissidents. “As far as the reporters are concerned — as far as the reporters are concerned, obviously I don't want that to happen. I think it's terrible — horrible. But, in all fairness to Putin, you're saying he killed people. I haven't' seen that. I don't know that he has. Have you been able to prove that? Do you know the names of the reporters that he's killed? Because I've been — you know, you've been hearing this, but I haven't seen the name. Now, I think it would be despicable if that took place, but I haven't' seen any evidence that he killed anybody in terms of reporters.” Dec. 21, 2015 Trump tells Iowa radio host Simon Conway, “I’ve always had a good instinct about Putin. I just feel that that’s a guy—and I can analyze people and you’re not always right, and it could be that I won’t like him. But I’ve always had a good feeling about him from the standpoint.” Dec. 30, 2015Trump says at an event in South Carolina that Putin says he’s “brilliant.” And attacks his opponents, saying, “they want me to refute his statement.” Jan. 26, 2016In an interview with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo, Trump discusses the 2006 murder of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian security agent, and the 2016 findings of a British inquiry that Putin “probably approved” his poisoning. "Have they found him guilty?” Trump said. “I don't think they've found him guilty.” “If he did it, fine. But I don’t know that he did it. You know, people are saying they think it was him, it might have been him, it could have been him. But Maria, in all fairness to Putin—I don’t know. You know, and I’m not saying this because he says, ‘Trump is brilliant and leading everybody’ —the fact is that, you know, he hasn’t been convicted of anything.” Feb. 15, 2016 Trump says at a news conference he’d be a better negotiator with Putin than his rivals. “You want to make a good deal for the country, you want to deal with Russia – and there’s nothing wrong with not fighting everybody, having Russia where we have a good relationship as opposed to all the stupidity that’s taken place.” Feb. 17, 2016 Trump says at a rally that he has no relationship with Putin. "I have no relationship with him other than he called me a genius,” Trump said. “He said, ‘Donald Trump is a genius and he is going to be the leader of the party and he's going to be the leader of the world or something.’” Feb. 26, 2016 Trump says at a press conference that he can’t imagine Marco Rubio meeting with Putin. “I joked recently about, ‘can you imagine Putin sitting there waiting for a meeting and Rubio walks in and he's totally drenched,” Trump said. “I don't know what it is, but I've never seen a human being sweat like this man sweats.” Feb. 28, 2016 Trump says at campaign rally in Alabama he’d be a better negotiator with Putin than his rivals. He says Putin has been “very nice” to him. March 12, 2016 Trump says at a rally that the media falsely claims he admires Putin: “Putin said good things about me. He said, ‘he’s a leader and there’s no question about it, he’s a genius.’ So they all said, the media, they said -- you saw it on the debate -- they said, ‘you admire President Putin.’ I said, I don’t admire him. I said he was a strong leader, which he is. I mean, he might be bad, he might be good. But he’s a strong leader.” March 21, 2016 Speaking at the Old Post Office, Trump says, “Putin says very nice things about me. I think that's very nice and it has no effect on me other than I think it's very nice.” April 26, 2016 Trump says during a victory speech “We're going to have a great relationship with Putin and Russia.” April 28, 2016 Trump says Putin has been “very nice” to him: "I'm saying that I'd possibly have a good relationship. He's been very nice to me," Trump told Bill O’Reilly. "If we can make a great deal for our country and get along with Russia that would be a tremendous thing. I would love to try it." May 2, 2016 Trump tells Indiana radio host Charly Butcher that the US should call Putin to ask him to stop Russian planes from barrel-rolling over US aircraft, but that if they didn’t stop, “at a certain point...you gotta shoot.” May 5, 2016 Asked if he’s ever spoken to Vladimir Putin, Trump gives a “no comment” to Fox News’ Bret Baier. “Yeah, I have no comment on that,” he said. “No comment.” When Baier pressed him, “Yeah, but I don’t want to comment because, let’s assume I did. Perhaps it was personal. You know, I don’t want to hurt his confidence. But I know Russia well. I had a major event in Russia two or three years ago – Miss Universe contest – which is a big, incredible event, and incredible success. I got to meet a lot of people. And you know what? They want to be friendly with the United States. Wouldn’t it be nice if we actually got with somebody?” May 27, 2016 Trump calls Putin “a strong leader” at a rally. June 3, 2016 At a rally in California, Trump mocked those who wanted him to “disavow” Putin’s praise of him. “Then Putin said, ’Donald Trump is a genius, he’s going to be the next great leader of the United States.’ No, no, think of it. They wanted me to disavow what he said. How dare you call me a genius. How dare you call me a genius, Vladimir. Wouldn’t it be nice if we actually got along with Russia? Wouldn’t that be good?" July 25, 2016 Trump tweets: The new joke in town is that Russia leaked the disastrous DNC e-mails, which should never have been written (stupid), because Putin likes me July 27, 2016 Trump tells a local Miami CBS affiliate that he has nothing to do with Russia and has never met Putin, saying, “But I have nothing to do with Russia, nothing to do, I never met Putin, I have nothing to do with Russia whatsoever.” July 27, 2016 Trump says at a news conference that he had never met Putin and didn’t know who he was: “I never met Putin,” Trump said. “I don’t know who Putin is. He said one nice thing about me. He said I'm a genius. I said thank you very much to the newspaper and that was the end of it. I never met Putin.” He also said, "I would treat Vladimir Putin firmly, but there's nothing I can think of that I'd rather do than have Russia friendly, as opposed to the way they are right now, so that we can go and knock out ISIS with other people.” In the same news conference, Trump called on Russia to find Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails as secretary of state. July 27, 2016 Talking about Putin at a campaign rally in Scranton, Trump says, “wouldn't it be a great thing if we could get along with Russia.” July 31, 2016 Trump tells ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that if he were to be elected president, Putin is “not going into Ukraine.” “He's not going into Ukraine, OK, just so you understand,” Trump said. “He's not going to go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down. You can put it down. You can take it anywhere you want.” Asked about Putin’s previous invasion of Crimea, Trump said, "OK -- well, he's there in a certain way. But I'm not there. You have Obama there. And frankly, that whole part of the world is a mess under Obama with all the strength that you're talking about and all of the power of NATO and all of this. In the meantime, he's going away. He takes Crimea." Aug. 5, 2016 Trump again says at a campaign rally in Green Bay that he doesn’t know Putin and attacks Hillary Clinton for saying he wants to befriend him: “And I'm saying to myself what's wrong with that? That's good,” Trump said. Sept. 7, 2016 Trump says in a town hall with NBC’s Matt Lauer that he considers Putin a stronger leader than Barack Obama. “If he says great things about me, I'm going to say great things about him. I've already said, he is really very much of a leader. I mean, you can say, 'Oh, isn't that a terrible thing' -- the man has very strong control over a country,” Trump said. “Now, it's a very different system, and I don't happen to like the system. But certainly, in that system, he's been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader.” Oct. 5, 2016 Trump said of Putin at a rally, “I don’t love, I don’t hate.” “I don’t love, I don’t hate,” he said in Nevada. “We’ll see how it works. We’ll see. Maybe we’ll have a good relationship. Maybe we’ll have a horrible relationship. Maybe we’ll have a relationship right in the middle.” Oct. 9, 2016 Trump said at presidential debate: “I don’t know Putin. I think it would be great if we got along with Russia because we could fight ISIS together, as an example. But I don’t know Putin.” Oct. 17, 2016 Trump tells radio host Michael Savage that he might meet with Putin prior to the start of his administration. "I think I could see myself meeting with Putin and meeting with Russia prior to the start of the administration,” he said. “I think it would be wonderful.” In the interview, he also said that Clinton shouldn’t talk “so tough” on Russia, saying "She talks tough with Russia. She shouldn't be talking so tough. Frankly, if we got along with Russia and knocked out ISIS, that would be a good thing, not a bad thing." Oct. 19, 2016 At the third presidential debate, Trump denied Clinton’s charge he was Putin’s “puppet”, saying “No puppet. You’re the puppet.” He further denied having met Putin and said that Putin had “outsmarted” Clinton and Obama. Oct. 27, 2016 Trump says at a rally in Ohio that it was not smart of Clinton to speak “very badly of Putin.” Dec. 23, 2016 Trump tweets out Putin’s criticism of Hillary Clinton and the Democrats: Vladimir Putin said today about Hillary and Dems: "In my opinion, it is humiliating. One must be able to lose with dignity." So true! Jan. 11, 2017 Trump says he believes Russia was responsible for the hacking the Democratic National committee in 2016: "I think it was Russia," Trump said, adding that Putin "should not be doing it.” “He won't be doing it. Russia will have much greater respect for our country when I am leading it than when other people have led it,” Trump said. Trump also said he believes a good relationship with Putin would be an asset. "If Putin likes Donald Trump, I consider that an asset, not a liability, because we have a horrible relationship with Russia. Russia can help us fight ISIS, which, by the way, is, number one, tricky. I mean if you look, this administration created ISIS by leaving at the wrong time. The void was created, ISIS was formed." Feb. 6, 2017 Trump says he respects Putin during a Super Bowl interview with Bill O’Reilly. Trump defends Putin when O’Reilly calls him a killer. “There are a lot of killers,” Trump says. “Do you think our country is so innocent? Do you think our country is so innocent? Feb. 16, 2017Trump says at a news conference that he has no deals in Russia: “And I can tell you, speaking for myself, I own nothing in Russia. I have no loans in Russia. I don't have any deals in Russia. President Putin called me up very nicely to congratulate me on the win of the election,” Trump said. Trump adds, “I would love to be able to get along with Russia. Now, you've had a lot of presidents that haven't taken that tack. Look where we are now. Look where we are now. So, if I can - now, I love to negotiate things, I do it really well, and all that stuff. But - but it's possible I won't be able to get along with Putin.” CNN's Tal Yellin, Ivory Sherman and Will Mullery contributed to this report. Reference: CNN Politics |
THE TWEETS BEHIND HER BACKTrump Tweets behind Merkel’s back
Donald J. Trump Verified account @realDonaldTrump 9h 9 hours ago “Despite what you have heard from the FAKE NEWS, I had a GREAT meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Nevertheless, Germany owes.....vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!” Trump made the above statement in two tweets. It is not a nice thing to say behind chancellor Angela Merkel’s back immediately after she left the White House. If Trump were a gentleman he would have had the courage to say it in front of her and get the bilateral negotiation going. Here are some useful talking points from me:
Somkiat Onwimon 19 March 2017 05:45 BKK Time HEALTHCARE:
AMERICA vs. THAILAND The American system is complicated while the Thai counterpart is kept simple and almost free. But both are politicized beyond the cure of medical science. American healthcare system is complicated, so complicated it’s become the most serious political issue. In Thailand, on the contrary, we simply provide almost free state-run hospital healthcare to everyone, rich or poor. For developing countries to be able to provide free healthcare to their citizens they must have enough state-run hospitals and keep drug cost down. For any country to be able to provide good healthcare system to its citizens, drug, doctor, and hospital service cost must be kept down to respectable minimum level. Medical science education in Thailand produces doctors and nurses who go on working in state-run and private hospitals around the countries. Those Thai doctors and nurses who are educated abroad usually return home to work in both private and state-run hospitals. It’s normal to find doctors from Thai state-run hospitals working double shifts at private hospitals. By medical science qualification, healthcare and hospital facilities in Thailand, state-run or private, are world-standard, if not world-class. In Thailand, those who can afford and prefer private hospitals do so out of want for luxury and convenience, not solely for the quality of care. Both private and state-run hospital facilities in Thailand provide basically good quality-services., regardless of the difference in hospital bills. Thailand has for many years been among the world's top destination for medical tourism, many from the Middle East, Japan, Europe, and even America. However, the best healthcare, to me, is personal healthcare. I keep myself healthy by living and eating moderately, and a regular exercise. At 68 I have been healthy all along with no serious health issues. But accidents could not be avoided at any age. Healthcare plan is still important. I once had an eye operation at Phaya Thai 2, a private hospital, by a doctor from Raj Vithee Hospital, a government-run hospital. Over 18 months ago I survived a serious road accident. My broken bones operation at Vibhavadi Hospital was performed by in-house Vibhavadi doctors together with some experts from an army hospital. This is a living proof that best doctors in private hospitals in Thailand are usually students of doctor-professors at state hospitals - Chulalongkorn, Siri Raj, Mahidol, Pra Mongkut, etc. In a 'so-called' free and democratic society like America, doctors (and lawyers) fees play an important role in keeping society so unequal and less democratic. Doctors and lawyers of America can rise up and unite, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN by lowering their fees - just kidding! Somkiat Onwimon 15 May 2017 'ORIENTALS'
เป็นคำหยามหมิ่นคนเชียในอเมริกา 'ORIENTALS' สำหรับคนอเมริกัน ถือเป็นคำหยามหมิ่นและเหยียดผิว เมื่อต้นปีที่แล้วจึงออกกฎหมายมีผลย้อนหลังห้ามใช้คำนี้ในเอกสารรัฐการ ผมคิดว่า 'Orientals' เป็นคำน่ารัก สะท้อนความงดงามของวัฒนธรรมเอเชียตะวันออก. เมื่อปี 2016 Grace Meng, ส.ส.อเมริกันเชื้อจีน, เห็นว่า "Orientals" เป็นคำไม่เหมาะสม ไม่สมควรจะใช้ในกฎหมายใดๆของสหรัฐฯ เพราะเป็นคำที่แสดงอาการดูถูกคนเอเชีย และคนอเมริกันเชื้อสายเอเชีย จึงเสนอกฎหมายให้ยกเลิกการใช้คำว่า "Orientals" นี้ อย่างเป็นทางการ กฎหมายผ่านรัฐสภา และมีผลบังคับใช้เมื่อปี 2016 โดยให้ใช้คำว่า 'Asian American' แทน ทำนองเดียวกับการใช้คำว่า 'African American' แทนคำว่า 'Negro' เมื่อวันที่ 4 กุมภาพันธ์ 2017 Mike Bost, สมาชิกสภาผู้แทนสหรัฐอเมริกา แห่งรัฐ Illinois, พูดว่า “You know the cleansing that the Orientals used to do where you’d put one person out in front and 900 people yell at them?” เป็นการพูดแสดงความไม่พอใจที่เวลาไปประชุมพบประชาชนที่หอประชุมท้องถิ่นแล้วมีคนมายืนตะโกนต่อว่ากันมากในระนี้ที่การเมืองสหรัฐฯกำลังแบ่งข้างชัดเจน เขาจึงเปรียบการระดมคนไปสร้างปัญหาด่าว่าผู้บรรยายในที่ประชุมนั้นเหมือนกัยที่จีนคอมมิวนิตส์ทำสมัยหนึ่ง พอพูดเสร็จแล้ว ส.ส. Bost พูดเสร็จแล้วนึกขึ้นมาได้ว่าการใช้คำว่า ‘Orientals’ เป็นเรื่องไม่เหมาะสม เพราะคนอเมริกันเชื้อสายเอเชีย โดยเฉพาะคนจีนรู้สึกว่าคำว่า ‘Orientals’ เป็นคำดูถูกเหยียดผิวคนเชื้อสายจีนหรือเอเชียในอเมริกา เพราะเมื่อปี 2016 มีกฎหมายห้ามใช้คำว่า ‘Orientals’ ในกฎหมายต่างๆทั้งหมดแล้ว ส.ส.ผู้นี้เลยต้องกลับมาขอโทษประชาชนที่ใช้คำว่า 'Orientals' โดยเหตุที่ว่าชาวอเมริกันส่วนหนึ่งถือเป็นคำไม่สุภาพและเหยียดหยามคน 'Asian Americans' เหมือนกับการใช้คำว่า 'Negro' กับคนผิวดำ คนอเมริกันเข้าใจไปอย่างนี้ได้อย่างไร ว่าคำว่า 'Oriental' ไม่สุภาพและเป็นอาการเหยียดหยามคนเชื้อสายจีน วรรณกรรมในอดีต ใช้คำว่า 'Oriental' เป็นคำงดงาม สุนทรีย์ romantic คำใช้ในงานวรรณกรรมในอดีตสะท้อนความ อัศจจรย์ เป็นเอกลักษณ์ของชาวเอเชียตะวันออก โดยเฉพาะชาวจีน "Orient" ใช้เป็นชื่อนาฬิกาชั้นดีของญี่ปุ่น และเป็นชื่อสายการบินในเอเชีย และ ชื่อโรงแรม 'The Oriental' ยังเป็นชื่อที่ยิ่งใหญ่ของโรงแรมระดับนำของโลกที่กรุงเทพฯ เป็นเรื่องของการซึมซับรับรู้ทางประวัติศาสตร์วัฒนธรรมและประสบการณ์ของต่างบริบทสังคม คนอเมริกันเชื้อสายจีนมีประสบการณ์ชีวิตที่ต่างไปจากคนเอเชียตะวันออกที่เกิดและเติบโตที่ The Orient มิได้จากบ้านเกิดไปตั้งรกรากใหม่ที่ไหน ___________________ Asian Americans think 'Orientals' is an offensive word. This is puzzling to me. 'Oriental', in many classic literatures, has been used as a romantic term describing the exotic East. 'The Orient' refers to the colorful people and culture of East Asia, China in particular. The word 'Orient' and 'Oriental' have positive connotation throughout Asia even today. By classic definition, any place east of Istanbul is the Orient. Marco Polo traveled to the orient to serve Kublai Khan also by way of Istanbul. The Orient Express connects Europe with Istanbul, where Europe meets the Orient, and on which a murder was committed - thanks to Agatha Christie who made the word 'Orient' so thrilling. We now can fly Orient Air to Japan and buy an Orient watch. Then fly back to Bangkok for a few night stay at 'The Oriental', the best hotel in the world, where Joseph Conrad frequented during his time of 'Lord Jim', and other famous novels. They even named a room after him. Get your orientation right and you will love the Orient and the Orientals. No matter what Asian Americans think of their place in American cultural context, I still feel that the word 'Oriental' is exotically romantic. Somkiat Onwimon 5 March 2017 |
❉ ARCHIVES ❉
❉ LIBRARY CLASSICS ❉
'Utopia' แปลว่า 'Nowhere', 'ไม่รู้ว่าอยู่ที่ไหน' แต่มีคนไปมาแล้วกลับมาเล่าให้ฟังว่าเหมือนเมืองในฝัน ในจินตนาการ อุดมสมบูรณ์ เสรี เป็นมิตร สันติสุข เป็นประชาธิปไตยแบบที่ไม่รู้ว่าอยู่ที่ไหน อยากไปอีก แต่ก็ไปไม่ถูก เพราะเป็นดินแดนแห่งความงดงามในวิถีชีวิต ที่มนุษย์สร้างไม่เป็น
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บทสนทนาเรื่อง Atlantis ทวีปที่ล่มสลายในอดีตกาล
จนผู้คนในโลกปัจจุบันคิดว่า Atlantis นั้นมีอยู่จริงในสมัยโบราณ แต่ไม่รู้ว่าอยู่ที่ไหย ล่มสลายไปอย่างไร และตรงไหน ทุกวันนี้ก็ยังตามต้นหา Atlantis กันอยู่ Plato เป็นคนเดียวที่พูดถึง Atlantis ที่ได้ยินมา พูดไว้สั้นๆ ไม่จบความ เลยทำให้โลกฉงนมาจนทุกวันนี้ |
หนังสืออมตะ สังเกตประชาธิปไตยแบบรากหญ้าที่ทรงอิทธิพลต่อความคิดของคนอเมริกันและยุโรปในศตวรรษที่ 19 ผลงานการเดินทางเรียนรู้วิเคราะห์ประชาธิปไตยในอเมริกา ในปี 1831-1832 เป็นหนังสือได้รับความนิยมในอเมริกาเป็นอย่างสูง โดยเฉพาะในอมู่นักคิด นักการเมือง และนักศึกษารัฐศาสตร์
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สัตวาธิปไตย..สัตว์ทุกตัวเท่าเทียมกัน เพียงแต่ว่ามีสัตว์บางตัวเท่าเทียมมากกว่าตัวอื่น เท่านั้นเอง วรรณกรรมการเมืองแบบสังคมนิยมประชาธิปไตยของ George Orwell นักเขียนชาวอังกฤษ ผู้เตือนโลกได้ล่วงหน้าเสมอถึงสิ่งที่จะเกิดในอนาคต ในฟาร์มสัตว์ เมื่อสรรพสัตว์ได้ประชาธิปไตย โดยการครองอำนาจการปกครองตนเองแล้ว ประชาธิปไตยจึงเริ่มไม่เป็นประชาธิปไตย
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งานวรรณกรรมการเมืองอีดเรื่อง โดย Goerge Orwell หลอกหลอนนักการเมือง และนักอำนาจนิยมมาถึงวันนี้ โดยเฉพาะในอเมริกา ยุคที่ Donald Trump หาเสียงปั้นน้ำให้เป็นตัว สร้างความหวาดกลัวในหมู่ประชาชน จนประสพความสำเร็จได้รับเลือกตั้ง ประชาชนโง่เขลา และอ่อนแอ เสมอถ้าเกิดความหวาดกลัว
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ปรัชญาการเมืองจากมหาตมะ คานธี เรื่องพลังแห่งความจริง และการไม่ใช้ความรุนแรง มหาตมคานธี ไม่ใช่นักปรัชญาแรกเริ่ม แต่นำแนวคิดจากโลกตะวันมาผสมผสานกับปรัชญาโลกตะวันออก ยังผลให้เกิดเป็นพลังนำการต่อสู้ทางการเมือง จนได้รับความชื่นชมยกย่อง หลักอหิงสา และ สัตยเคราะห์ ที่ท่านหล่อหลอมและนำมาใช้เป็นเครื่องมือการต่อสู้ทางการเมือง เป็นความจริงอันอมตะ
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หนังสือเก่าที่ไม่ล้าสมัยคู่มือการใช้ภาษาอังกฤษซึ่งเป็นที่นิยมของนักศึก ษาและชาวอเมริกันทั่วไป ชาวต่างชาติมีไว้พกติดตัวปรับปรุงการใช้ภาษาอังกฤษของตนด้วยก็ยิ่งดี สั้น กระชับ อ่านง่าย เขียนโดยอาจารย์มหาวิทยาลัย Cornell University แนะนำการใช้ภาษาอังกฤษที่ถูกต้อง อ่านแล้วจะพบว่าคนอเมริกันทุกวันนี้ใช้ภาษาอังกฤษกันอย่างผิดๆมากมาย
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หนังสือที่อ่าน อ่านแล้วเห็นประโยชน์เชื่อมโยงกับชีวิต นำมาแนะนำเล่าสู่กันฟังต่อ นี่เป็นหนังสื่อเล่มแรกของผม ที่รวมหนังสือที่ผมอ่านไว้กลุ่มแรก ที่อ่านเพื่อพยายามค้นหาประเทศไทยที่กำลังหลงทาง ทั้งกลุ่มผู้นำเอง และประชาชนพลเมือง อ่านแล้วรู้ว่าหนทางที่ถูกต้องเป็นอย่างไร แต่เมื่อผู้นำไม่อ่านหนังสือ ผู้ตามไม่สนใจหนังสือ สังคมก็ย่ำประวัติศาสตร์ ณ รอยเดิม
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