The Russian Foreign Ministry has derided Mike Pompeo's attempts to advertise the present administration's tough approach to Russia - not without the help of a certain historic figure.
Mike Pompeo took to Twitter on Sunday to defy stereotypes about the present administration's "soft" stance on Russia, claiming that no government in the US has been tougher on Russia than the existing one. The post, hashtagged #LeadingFromTheFront, was accompanied by a picture of Putin with words Russia, Russia, Russia placed over him.
In response, the Russian foreign ministry jocularly commended the Trump administration's "efforts" to challenge Russia, tweeting "Way to go, tough guys" with the same hashtag as in Pompeo's post, and attaching a painting titled Napoleon's Retreat from Russia by German painter Adolph Northen, with the secretary of state's words superimposed over it.
Napoleon Bonaparte, France's leader in early 19th century, suffered defeat when he attempted to invade Russia. Despite initial successes, his army, starved and cold from Russia's hostile winter, was forced to retreat.
Trump's administration has been accused by his opponents of cosying up to Russia, especially during the President's first year in office and his ostensible "soft" stance laid the groundwork for the US-Russia "collusion" saga that alleged that Moscow had helped Trump get elected in 2016 - a claim which was found to be totally unsubstantiated after a long inquiry conducted by special prosecutor Robert Muller between May 2017 and March 2019.
Trump himself has repeatedly stressed that he has been tougher on Russia than his predecessor Barack Obama.