For nearly a decade, the idea that Donald J. Trump might be an agent of Russia has been dismissed as a paranoid fantasy—a fever dream of the so-called resistance, a conspiracy theory fit for the darkest corners of the internet. But as President Trump settles into his second term, openly siding with Vladimir Putin in the war against Ukraine, we must ask: What if the wildest theory of them all was true?
This is not an accusation. This is a thought experiment.
Consider what we know. From the very beginning, Trump’s relationship with Russia has been murky at best, deeply compromised at worst. His business ties to Russian oligarchs, his campaign’s documented contacts with Kremlin operatives in 2016, his public plea for Russia to hack his opponent, his attempts to weaken NATO, and his relentless efforts to undermine U.S. intelligence agencies—each of these alone might be dismissed as political maneuvering or personal greed. But together, they form a pattern.
And now, with his return to power, that pattern has become undeniable.
Since his re-election, Trump has systematically dismantled America’s support for Ukraine, calling the nation “ungrateful” and echoing Russian propaganda that the war was Ukraine’s fault. He has worked to defund NATO, hinting that the United States may not come to the defense of European allies. He has refused to call Putin a war criminal, even as evidence of Russian atrocities mounts. He has suggested, on multiple occasions, that Ukraine should surrender.
This is not neutrality. This is not pragmatism. This is taking the side of an authoritarian regime that is actively waging war on a sovereign democracy.
The question we must confront is this: If Trump were a Russian agent, how would his behavior be any different from what we are seeing right now?
Would a Russian asset not do exactly what Trump has done—sow chaos in the United States, erode trust in democratic institutions, and weaken America’s alliances? Would he not attack the FBI and CIA, cast doubt on U.S. elections, and call for the prosecution of political opponents? Would he not actively aid America’s greatest adversary while vilifying its allies?
For years, Trump’s defenders have argued that he is simply a businessman with an “America First” agenda, uninterested in foreign entanglements. But an America that is weak, isolated, and divided serves only one nation: Russia.
If Trump is not a Russian asset, then the Kremlin could not have designed a better one.
Perhaps it doesn’t matter whether Trump is an active agent of Moscow or merely a useful idiot who parrots Russian interests. The result is the same: America is now led by a man who has, at every opportunity, done what is best for Vladimir Putin.
In the end, the most shocking possibility may not be that Trump was installed by the Kremlin. It may be that he didn’t need to be.