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An MSNBC panel suggested Thursday morning that President Donald Trump is selling out American interests abroad because he is indebted to Russian President Vladimir Putin over his failed business ventures.
Donny Deutsch, a businessman who ran in the same circle as Trump for years, told Morning Joe hosts Mika Brzezinksi and Joe Scarborough that most of the president's policy decisions are made with the Russian leader in mind.
"He is owned by Putin because he's been laundering Russian money for the last 20, 30 years. That's what this is," Deutsch said. He added that if they talked to "any banker in New York, any business person in New York, any real estate person" and that information would be confirmed.
"We have a president that is selling out our military, that's costing lives because he is owned by our geopolitical enemy because he has been laundering money for him as a criminal organization for the last 30 years. That will come out in time," Deutsch continued.
Scarborough quickly jumped in to note, numerous times, that Deutsch's comments were "only speculation right now." But the MSNBC host did agree that "it's always about the money" when it comes to Trump and Putin's relationship.
"I think we all will be absolutely fascinated when we finally figure out what Vladimir Putin has on Donald Trump and why Donald Trump has surrendered the Middle East, helped ISIS, helped Iran, helped Russia, helped Turkey, helped all of our enemies and betrayed all of our allies," Scarborough said, adding that it "goes back to money."
Trump was heavily criticized by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress for withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria earlier this month, abandoning Kurdish allies in the region. The president framed the move as fulfilling his "America first" agenda and said during a press conference that we should "let someone else fight over this long-bloodstained sand."
The withdrawal allowed Turkey and Russia to step in and gain control in the region. Shortly after U.S. troops were taken out of northern Syria, a Turkish offensive invaded a Kurdish-controlled area and seized it.
Trump responded to the conflict by placing sanctions on Turkey, but the president announced on Wednesday that he was lifting the penalties because of a deal reached between Russia and Turkey to police the border in northern Syria.
Again, lawmakers in both parties slammed Trump's decision to lift sanctions. Republican Senator Mitt Romney said it was "unthinkable that Turkey would not suffer consequences for malevolent behavior which was contrary to the interests of the United States and our friends."
Senator Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement that Trump seems "determined to keep handing political and military victories to Russia and Syria, kowtowing to Turkey and opening the door for further Iranian expansion in the region."
About the writer
Alexandra Hutzler is currently a staff writer on Newsweek's politics team. Prior to joining Newsweek in summer 2018, she was ... Read more