Speaking to Sputnik Mundo about what US politicians and most of the mainstream media had said would be an impossible victory, Steinko explained that actually, Trump's win "is similar to what happened in the United Kingdom with Brexit."
In each case, he noted, "the political and economic elite did not perceive or did not want to acknowledge the chasm between the actual situation in the country and the 'official' one."
Now, Steinko explained, the challenge for Trump will be to fulfill his many campaign provinces. "The danger for Trump consists of the fact that he promised his voters a great deal, and they now have high hopes for him. But he [alone] cannot fulfill many of these promises."
In the realm of foreign policy, the professor praised Trump for his apparent desire to reduce the US military footprint abroad. "This is evidence of realism…What will it lead to? Probably to considerable tensions within NATO, and to more pragmatism in international relations."
As far as relations with Moscow are concerned, Steinko pointed out that "Putin, like other leaders, has appealed, within reasonable limits, to any possible way to somehow reduce the aggressiveness of his adversary. If Trump has decided to concentrate on domestic policy and to reduce the military presence of US troops abroad, this, of course, will have a positive impact on the situation in the world. And obviously, it will benefit Russia, which suffered primarily during the [first] Clinton era, but from the Republicans as well. We shouldn't forget that Clinton proposed the continuation of the Republican Party line [on Russia] and a Cold War."
