US President Donald Trump has demonstrated a great deal of confidence over his leadership status, judging from the time he has chosen to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Sun Chenghao, an assistant researcher at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, writing for
World Affairs, a semi-monthly journal.
A desire to improve the relationship with Russia has run through many US administrations. Unlike his predecessors, however, Trump appears unaffected by domestic politics and rather firm-minded in fulfilling his campaign promise to mend ties with Russia, according to Sun.
Meeting Putin before the mid-term elections demonstrates the president’s confidence in the growing solidity of his political power, said Sun. Some opinion polls in the US have already shown that Trump has gained steady support from both within and outside the Republican Party. That gives Trump enough confidence to seek closer ties with Russia even amid on-going investigations about Russia’s alleged interference in the US presidential elections.
For Trump, meeting Putin may even help create a breakthrough in diplomacy, believes Sun. If the meeting goes well, Trump’s presidential career is going to be marked by two milestone successes, the other being his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Both could mean an advantage for the Republicans during the mid-term elections.
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