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If Trump was trying to make money from Russian connections "from the day I announced to the day I won," what are the odds that he stopped on the day he won?
And given that Putin's approval was the key to such a deal, what are the odds that the newly-elected Trump didn't want to talk business -- private business -- with Putin? (As Trump has said of pursuing Russian deals during campaign: "Why should I lose lots of opportunities?”)
And if you're Putin & you have that private audience, & you know Trump's love of $$, what stops you from saying, "Donald, when your term is over, your status as a former Pres who helped Russia will make you the perfect business partner for us -- we can make you billions."
And if you're an international business guy, and you realize that a term as President could be used to establish warm personal relations with autocrats who control the economic cards in their countries that could mean deals when your term ends, do you "lose" that "opportunity"?
Maybe Trump hasn't thought along these lines at all. I don't know. But it seems he has a significant financial incentive to think along those lines, at least assuming he is interested in making billions of dollars after his presidency is over (which he may or may not want).
And if you had such a plan, it seems to me you would want to do three things. First, you'd make sure you will regain full control of your business the day you leave office. reuters.com/article/us-usa…
Second, you'd want to develop good relationships with the autocrats who control their economies and could make a deal when you leave office. thehill.com/blogs/ballot-b…
Third, you would want to go to great lengths to speak to those autocrats one-on-one without others knowing what you talked about. washingtonpost.com/world/national…
