President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet face to face Monday at the presidential palace in Helsinki—a move author Joel Rosenberg believes is a bad idea.
“Personally, I don’t really want President Trump in the room with Putin. I don’t think we have a lot to say to President Putin,” Rosenberg told CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Mitchell. “I don’t believe in walking into the room with a world leader who’s an enemy, who’s a strategic threat, unless you have a specific game plan.”
On Friday, the U.S. Justice Department announced charges against 12 Russian intelligence officers for hacking offenses during the 2016 presidential election. In response, congressional leaders urged Trump to call off the meeting.
Rosenberg warns of potentially bigger threat—Russia’s growing influence in the Middle East.
“The challenge with Vladimir Putin is that he wants to expand the influence of the Russian empire. … The only place he really has to maneuver is the Middle East. He’s got Iran in his pocket, he’s pulling Turkey into his orbit,” he explained, adding that Syria has also grown closer to Russia in recent months.
Rosenberg does not want Trump to pick a fight with Putin, but to remember that he is talking to someone opposed to U.S. interests.
“For some reason President Trump thinks that if he gets in the room with him, maybe he can warm Putin up and Putin will turn out to be a good guy—he’s not. Putin is not a good guy, he’s evil.” {eoa}
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