The Dangers of Trump's Pursuit of Putin

This is what makes Trump's courting of Putin so dangerous, regardless of whether a U.S.-Russia summit happens in three weeks or three months, or whether it happens in Iceland or elsewhere. For given the signs that have emerged so far, that diplomacy seems likely to further divide and demoralize the defenders of the existing international order, while empowering those who threaten it. Trump may very well get some sort of deal with Putin; a bad bargain is easily achieved. But if he persists on the course he seems set on taking, he will not be assuming Reagan's historical mantle at all. He will be emulating not the statesman who legacy is “peace through strength,” but rather another 20th century leader whose epitaph will forever be “peace for our time.”