While Trump firebombs this United States of Europe as an "unfair" competitor of the US, it's essential to remember that it was the White House that asked for the Helsinki summit, not the Kremlin.
Trump treats the EU with undisguised disdain. He would love nothing better than for the EU to dissolve. His Arab "partners" can be easily controlled by fear. He has all but declared economic war on China and is on tariff overdrive -- even as the IMF warns that the global economy runs the risk of losing around $500 billion in the process. And he faces the ultimate intractable, the China-Russia-Iran axis of Eurasian integration, which simply won't go away.
So, talking to "world-class thug" Putin -- in usual suspect terminology -- is a must. A divide-and-rule here, a deal there -- who knows what some hustling will bring? To paraphrase Lou Reed, New Trump City "is the place where they say 'Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side.'"
During the Helsinki presser, Putin, fresh from Russia's spectacular World Cup soft-power PR coup, passed a soccer-ball to Trump. The US president said he would give it to his son, Barron, and passed the ball to First Lady Melania. Well, the ball is now in Melania's court.
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