Yahoo News Chief Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff and Mother Jones Washington Bureau Chief David Corn have collaborated on a new book called Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump.
Yahoo News is publishing two adapted excerpts in advance of the book's March 13th release. The first, out Thursday, details Donald Trump's 2013 trip to Russia for the Miss Universe pageant and how that visit laid the groundwork for the president's obsession with pleasing Putin for personal gain.
Trump’s trip to Moscow for the Miss Universe contest was a pivotal moment. He had for years longed to develop a glittering Trump Tower in Moscow. With this visit, he would come near — so near — to striking that deal. He would be close to branding the Moscow skyline with his world-famous name and enhancing his own status as a sort of global oligarch.
During his time in Russia, Trump would demonstrate his affinity for the nation’s authoritarian leader with flattering and fawning tweets and remarks that were part of a long stretch of comments suggesting an admiration for Putin ...
His two days there would later become much discussed because of allegations that he engaged in weird sexual antics while in Russia — claims that were not confirmed. But this visit was significant because it revealed what motivated Trump the most: the opportunity to build more monuments to himself and to make more money. Trump realized that he could attain none of his dreams in Moscow without forging a bond with the former KGB lieutenant colonel who was now the president of Russia.
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...[A]nyone who wanted to do big deals in Russia — especially an American — could only do so if Putin was keen on it. “We all knew that the event was approved by Putin,” a Miss Universe official later said. “You can’t pull off something like this in Russia unless Putin says it’s OK.” Trump would only be making money in Russia because Putin was permitting him to do so.
Prior to traveling to Moscow on November 8, 2013, Trump bragged – and apparently lied – on national television about his Russian connections.
[In October], Trump appeared on David Letterman’s late-night show. The host asked if Trump had ever done any deals with the Russians. “I’ve done a lot of business with the Russians,” Trump replied, adding, “They’re smart and they’re tough.” Letterman inquired if Trump had ever met Putin. “He’s a tough guy,” Trump said. “I met him once.” In fact, there was no record he ever had.
Once in Moscow, Trump behaved in a way now familiar to the American public.
He gave a brief welcoming talk. “Ask me a question,” he told the crowd. The first query was about the European debt crisis and the impact that the financial woes of Greece would have on it. “Interesting,” Trump replied. “Have any of you ever seen ‘The Apprentice’?” Trump spoke at length about his hit television show, repeatedly noting what a tremendous success it was. He said not a word about Greece or debt. When he was done with his remarks, he thanked them all for coming and received a standing ovation. (Later, Aras Agalarov, reminiscing about this lunch, would note, “If [Trump] does not know the subject, he will talk about a subject he knows.”)
Trump again emphasized his relationship with and affection for Putin during an interview with MSNBC anchor and pageant co-host Thomas Roberts in Moscow the day of the Miss Universe pageant.
Do you have a relationship with Putin and any sway with the Russian leader? Roberts asked him. Trump was unequivocal: “I do have a relationship.” He paused. “I can tell you that he’s very interested in what we’re doing here today. 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.”
Trump could barely contain his praise for Russia’s president: “Look, he’s done a very brilliant job in terms of what he represents and who he’s representing. If you look at what he’s done with Syria, if you look at so many of the different things, he has really eaten our president’s lunch. Let’s not kid ourselves. He’s done an amazing job. … He’s put himself at the forefront of the world as a leader in a short period of time.”
But Trump’s comments about a “relationship” with Putin were, at this point, wishful thinking. The word had spread through the Miss Universe staff that Trump fiercely craved Putin’s attendance at the pageant.
When Trump found out Putin would be unable to attend, he decided to lie.
It was a crushing disappointment for Trump. But he quickly thought of how to spin it, suggesting to an associate that, after the telecast, they could spread the word that Putin had dropped by. “No one will know for sure if he came or not,” he said.
The Moscow trip put into motion the pieces of a possible deal to build a Trump Tower there.
Trump was finally on his way in Russia. And shortly after the Miss Universe event, Agalarov’s daughter showed up at the Miss Universe office in New York City bearing a gift for Trump from Putin. It was a black lacquered box. Inside was a sealed letter from the Russian autocrat. What the letter said has never been revealed.
In February 2014, Ivanka Trump flew to Moscow to scout potential sites for the Trump Tower project with Emin Agalarov. “We thought that building a Trump Tower next to an Agalarov tower — having the two big names — could be a really cool project to execute,” Emin later said.
But international events would quickly intervene. Weeks after Ivanka’s visit, the Obama administration and the European Union imposed tough sanctions on Russia in response to Putin’s annexation of Crimea and his military intervention in Ukraine. It would be a kick to Russia’s already faltering economy, struggling because of the plummeting price of oil. And one round of sanctions imposed by the EU targeted Russian banks in which the Russian government held a majority interest — that included Sberbank, which had agreed to finance the Trump deal. Its access to capital was now hindered.
In this environment, the plans for the Trump Tower in Moscow crumbled.
That deal was dead. But Trump’s involvement with Russia and Putin was not done. He still had a close bond with an influential oligarch, Aras Agalarov, who was wired to the Kremlin. And he stayed in touch with his Miss Universe pals, Emin and [Rob] Goldstone. In January 2015, nearly a year after Putin’s invasion in Ukraine, Trump had Emin and Goldstone as guests to his office in Trump Tower — a meeting that was never publicly revealed during the investigations that followed the 2016 election.
Read the full story: Miss Universe in Moscow: How Trump's beauty contest spawned a business deal with Russians and a bond with Putin (Yahoo News)
Trump and the Russians: A new book describes how it all began — at a Las Vegas nightclub (Yahoo News)