He's a Kremlin Asset

To understand what is meant by "he's an asset", we need to understand how the Kremlin views the world and how it operates. Keep in mind that other than the 90's, which turned out to be just a transitional anomaly, the Soviet state and Putin's Russia are similar in how they view the world and how they operate. Russia hyper-centralized to its core. Putin is the head of state, the head of the party, the head of the KGB/FSB, the richest person, and in complete and total control.

You'll hear people refer to the Russian Mob or the Russian Mafia, but these mobsters are all KGB/FSB, KGB/FSB run, or KGB/FSB controlled. In the 80's, as now, the Kremlin, the KGB/FSB and the Russian Mob are the same. It is not really an ecosystem, it's a hierarchy.

Who is in that hierarchy and who is not is very clearly delineated. Whether countries or individuals, those not in the hierarchy are in one of two categories. One group are slaves and treated as slaves are treated. The second category is enemies; they are treated as enemies are treated. The goal with both slaves and enemies is that they be weakened, divided, and made or kept miserable as possible, so that that they eventually disappear, no matter how long it takes. The goal of the whole hierarchical system is to weaken everybody and everything outside of the system.

This is quite different from how democratic countries and people deal with each other. We think in terms of partnership and equality. We start with mutually beneficial relations, live and let live, maybe even friendship. But the key is open communication and eventually since we are all logical, logic will prevail. If the other side stays problematic, then ignore them.

But this somehow feeds the "us vs. slaves and enemies" world view of Russia because most of all Russia hates to be ignored.

In any case, for all these reasons, democratic countries don't really cultivate assets in the way the Kremlin does.

The official term in Russian, used by the KGB/FSB, is “confidential contacts" or "doveritelnaya svyaz". This means somebody they are secretly in contact with and can influence to do this or that. Note that this doesn't mean, and is quite different from, "agent". Agents know who they work for and follow direct orders. You recruit agents, but assets you just identify. You identify tons of them and hope that over the years they will do what you want them to do and they will grow in power or influence. Most don't of course, but a few do.

We all have the natural tendency to think that everybody else is like us and looks at the world the way we do. Russia thinks that the US has assets and, for example, the former president of Georgia, Misha Saakashvili is a US asset. He isn't. What distinguishes a real asset is that there is a group of real people whose job it is to job to identify, test, and assist assets. They count, monitor, measure, and evaluate them. Then they make decisions on how to deploy them.

And they are deployed specifically to hurt where they are from and assist Russia in complex and difficult to discern ways.

The US and Europe on the other hand, just encourage people to come visit, study (as Saakashvili did), and work, knowing that most of them will like it and become allies or even advocates in general. These people aren't tracked or deployed because there is no need to, they had a good time when they were in the west. Not always, but almost always, they came to like and respect their host country and the democratic system.

But on to some specifics in this case. Here's the timeline:

1973 In his late twenties, he and his father Fred are prosecuted by the US Justice Department for racist renting practices. He meets lawyer Roy Cohn who gets him out of it and becomes his mentor and close friend, in so far as that was possible for those two. This is chronicled in the incredible 2024 movie The Apprentice. Everybody should see it.

1977 He marries Czech model Ivana Zelnickova. The KGB takes note.

1979 He buys the site that becomes Trump Tower on 5th Ave in NYC; the lobby is finished in 1983.

1984 He meets in Trump Tower with Russian David Bogatin, ally of Russian mob/KGB boss Semion Mogilevich. At that meeting, five apartments are sold for cash, the first of many.

1987 By invitation of the Soviet Ambassador, he visits Moscow in July; returns and a few weeks later on 2 Sept, he puts $100,000 worth of full page ads in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Boston Globe saying "There's nothing wrong with America's Foreign Defense Policy that a little backbone can't cure, an open letter from Donald J. Trump" – addressed "To The American People" talking about the US paying too much to defend other countries a topic he had previously never mentioned. This was the KGB testing him and his suggestibility. He passes with flying colors.

1991: The Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City goes bankrupt a year after it opens.

1992: Trump Castle Hotel & Casino and Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City all go bankrupt.

1996 He visits Moscow again.

2001 The Bayrock Group is founded by Tevfik Arif as a vehicle to get him money. Run by Felix Sater, childhood friend of Trump's fixer Michael Cohen.

2004: Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts goes bankrupt.

2004 The Apprentice TV show starts.

2008 Russia invades Georgia, but is frustrated at the international backlash and starts to focus on how to better influence international communication and conversation to its advantage and the disadvantage of its perceived adversaries.

2009: Trump Entertainment Resorts goes bankrupt.

2011 No banks will lend to him but he becomes a Private Banking client of well known money launderer Deutsche Bank, with all loans secretly guaranteed by various Russian oligarchs.

2014 Cambridge Analytica begins sharing its voter information with the Kremlin via Lukoil. Bob and Bekah Mercer install Steve Bannon as VP of Cambridge Analytica who approves all payments.

2016 Alpha Bank server installed in Trump Tower for secure direct communication with the Kremlin. He's elected president.

2022 The day before her children, Ivanka and Don Jr., were supposed to be questioned by the NY State Attorney via deposition, ex wife Ivana dies by blunt impact to the chest when she falls down a staircase.

2023 Musk starts having frequent one on one calls with Putin.

2024 Musk puts $272 million into his digital campaign and he is elected president again.

Many people from the former Soviet countries were moving to the US in the mid '80s, particularly to New York, particularly via Israel. At the time, the KGB was very focused on recruiting more US assets. From a KGB memo in the mid eighties on how to identify targets, “Are pride, arrogance, egoism, ambition or vanity among subject’s natural characteristics?” With Trump Tower finally finished and way over budget, he was desperate for cash. At the same time all these Russian KGB Mobsters needed to launder money with no questions asked. He was the only one who didn't ask questions. They were happy to build relations with him and his Czech wife. Win win win.

People often wonder if the Kremlin "has something on him". It doesn't matter. Bullies are the best assets because their lives are ruled by fear and arrogance. They are simply told at the end of a meeting, "By the way, I just wanted to let you know that the videos taken during your trip in '87 or '96 or whenever are safe. There is no chance they will be released because we know how damaging that would be for you." That way they can keep pretending they are on the same side, the flattery continues; ideas are floated, the asset is only to happy to be convinced the ideas are in fact his and those ideas become reality and policy.

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