WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Former CIA analyst Raymond McGovern told Sputnik that despite widespread speculation that the billionaire businessman has become President Vladimir Putin’s favored candidate, the president unlikely wants him to win.
Over the weekend, Trump told ABC News in an interview that the people of Crimea would prefer being part of Russia instead of Ukraine. On Monday Trump said it would be good if the United States and Russia could get along.
"It strains credulity beyond the breaking point that Putin would want Trump to be president of the United States, unpredictable as he is," McGovern, who briefed three US presidents and headed the CIA’s Soviet policy branch, told Sputnik on Monday.
The whole premise is crazy, McGovern noted, that Trump’s embrace of better US-Russian ties somehow makes Putin a fan.
"I know a little bit about Russian and Soviet leaders,” McGovern added. “The last thing they want is somebody who is proud of being unpredictable and who gets irate at the slightest slight.”
That Putin, McGovern added, would want Trump to have his finger on the nuclear button “is a leap of faith that I cannot possibly make and remain sane.”
"With respect to Hillary, I’m saying there’s no lesser of two evils," McGovern said. "I don’t think he [Putin] wants Trump to win. I don’t think he wants Hillary to win either."
Unfortunately, McGovern suggested, the idea that Putin supports Trump has wormed its way into a narrative being spun by Democrats and major US media outlets that back Clinton.
If the media says Putin wants Trump to win 50 times, then 95 percent of the American people will believe that to be true, McGovern added.
On Monday, US Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said in a Twitter post that Trump’s favorable positions on Russia are likely related to investments in the country.
A Public Policy Polling survey revealed that voters from the key US swing state of Pennsylvania are less likely to support a presidential candidate with friendly views toward Russia.
