Putin Used Flattery and Deception to Influence US Presidents for Decades, Says The Times

The Times reported that over the past 25 years, Russian leader Vladimir Putin of Russia has sought to flatter, deceive and manipulate five American presidents—from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump — while showing little effort to hide his disdain for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

In the report published on March 21, Putin’s earliest known attempt to influence a US president dates back to 1996. When then-President Bill Clinton visited St. Petersburg, Clinton was rushed through the city in an armored vehicle, taken to a windowless restaurant, and kept away from ordinary residents, according to the report.

US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe who served from 1994 to 2001, recalled that Ambassador Jim Collins attributed the restrictive arrangements during Clinton’s visit to a deputy mayor named Putin, marking the first time many US officials heard his name, according to The Times.

Putin’s motives for isolating Clinton remain unclear. But as a former KGB officer, Putin was trained to assess psychological profiles and find ways to influence foreign officials. Angela Stent, a former intelligence adviser on Russia to US policymakers, told The Times that Putin has become increasingly skilled at identifying vulnerabilities and manipulating Western leaders, many of whom lack a deep understanding of Russia.

Three of the five US presidents who have served during Putin’s rule—Clinton, George W. Bush and Trump—have spoken at one time or another, publicly about their positive relationships with him, The Times reported. Clinton said in 2013 that he had “a really good, blunt relationship” with Putin.

President George W. Bush, initially wary of Putin, famously described him as “very straightforward and trustworthy” after their first summit in Slovenia in 2001, saying he had “looked the man in the eye” and “got a sense of his soul.” That impression was reportedly shaped by a story Putin shared about his mother’s Orthodox cross that survived a house fire, a tale some US officials present doubted. Condoleezza Rice, then national security adviser, recalled telling Bush she was unsure the story was true The Times stated.

Putin’s rapport with Donald Trump has long puzzled Western officials, Trump repeatedly expressed admiration for the Russian leader, even as US intelligence agencies accused Russia of interfering in the 2016 election.

In contrast, Putin made little effort to charm President Obama or President Biden, The Times said, with public displays of coldness and frequent criticism.

Gennady Gudkov, a former KGB colonel who later joined the Russian opposition, told The Times that Putin’s time in Soviet intelligence likely provided him with little more than routine surveillance skills.

“Putin was not some kind of bright, outstanding [KGB] employee,” Gudkov said. He suggested that Putin’s political instincts were shaped instead by dealings with criminal networks in St. Petersburg during the 1990s.

In corresponding news, high-level US and Russian delegations held closed-door talks at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with journalists barred from the venue by Saudi state security, Russian state media TASS reported on March 24.