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Ric Steinberger's avatar

Let's start with one undeniable fact: Trump did not keep these Secret and TS/SCI documents because he ever intended to read them. We know he's not a reader or writer of anything much more than 256 characters.

The only plausible reasons he took possession of these USG documents are:

1) He believed he could sell some of them to a hostile power (almost certainly Putin/Russia)

2) He thought he could trade them for something he badly wants.

3) He imagined that there might be some possibilities for blackmail or revenge.

4) He wanted to show off some of them to Mar-a-Lago visitors.

Of these four, I consider item 1 - the "offer them to Putin" option in exchange for Putin's help in getting back into the White House - the most likely. Trump would know that TS/SCI nuclear weapons documents would be extremely valuable to Putin. Putin may have even told him exactly the kinds of documents to take while Trump was in his last days of his first term. Putin [former KGB agent] is the only national leader able to execute such a plan as long as he had Trump's cooperation.

Is this proof? No of course not: it's merely a reasoned attempt to identify the most likely explanations and of those, the most probable. Best of luck to the FBI!

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Save Our Country's avatar

There is a lot to unpack here because of the many nuances that Ruth Ben-Ghiat specializes in.

I would characterize Trump as a one trick pony. He does not have that inventive, expansive mind. He is basically a grifter who focuses on exploiting the human condition of greed and self-interest. That's right - Trump thinks that there are enough people who think just like him, so he uses his limited marketing talent to say, I'm just like you and together we can Make America Great Again. (Wink, wink) I'm your guy because like you I hate blacks and every other ethnicity that is not like us. If we get rid of them, there will be more for us. It is so basic, so seminal.

Of course, the Republican leadership is loving that Trump is shoring up a naturally declining base and is willing to thwart democracy to give the minority Republican Party unearned victories. For Trump, the party is a means to an end - wealth accumulation. In politics there are unlimited way to make a fast buck!

Trump has all the tendencies of a strongman, but his motivation is different. It is not power for the sake of power (which automatically ensures a grand lifestyle), like every other autocrat; it is strictly about wealth accumulation. Trump sees himself as being the richest person in the world. Trump thinks less about power and more about control. People who constantly gauge how much control they have keep score. Scorekeepers naturally are vindictive and petty. Sound familiar?

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