A short thread on why Trump likes Russia more than NATO. Since 1987, Trump's worldview has been motivated much more by anger toward allies and partners than enemies. This is because he sees alliance security commitments & free trade as existential threats to US interests 1/4
He has never really been bothered about geopolitical stability, etc. so when he looks at Russia/ Soviet Union, he sees a country that the US has no security commitments to and no trade with. So no problem! By contrast, Japan, S Korea, Germany, etc all tick the threat box 2/4
Add to the mix that he feels more at home in Russia's culture-- macho, loose w/ rules, respect for strong men-- and is wary of messy democracies. And that he truly couldn't care less about a Russian threat to Europe-- other peoples business in his view 3/4
The net effect is he genuinely thinks allies & partners are a greater problem for US interests than the Russians. No one else agrees w/ him so he has struggled to turn this into policy but he's really trying now 4/4
