It's the Democracy, Stupid with Edwin Eisendrath | October 10, 2026

All right, let's turn to this week, and really where we have to talk about Trump and Russia again.

I mean, look, Donald Trump is facing a reckoning at the polls here in the United States, and he is desperate.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin, he doesn't have voters, but Russians, as experienced as they are with pain, have limits.

And this week, the two dictators came to each other's aid.

On Friday, they spoke for an hour and a half.

Trump described it as a great conversation.

He said Putin wants peace, and he blamed, uh, Ukrainian President Zelensky for the continued carnage.

Of course, that's not true.

Uh, instead, you know, this week, um, unbelievably, America started to finance Putin's war.

For years, for years, Trump quietly abetted Putin's battles with the West.

He didn't object when Putin launched what's now the biggest land war in Europe since World War II.

Um, uh, he turned a blind eye as Putin, uh, uh, led a hybrid war across, uh, the continent, blowing up shopping malls, uh, cutting communications cables, uh, flooding border crossings with migrants, jamming GPS systems, and interfering with elections.

And of course, we all remember Trump famously asked Putin to help him win his first presidential race, and according to a report of the Senate Intelligence Committee, at the time led by Marco Rubio, um, we know that Russia did.

Uh, Putin is now allied with Iran, um, and provided the Revolutionary Guard with targeting information and intelligence that helped kill Americans and destroy American bases in the region.

Trump's been asked about this.

He says it's not important.

Really? He hosted a summit, remember that, in Alaska that succeeded in only one thing, giving, uh, the Russian dictator a propaganda boost at home.

Uh, Trump ended our government's programs that track money laundering and sanctions evasion, helped Putin continue to fund his war.

Um, he launched his own assault on NATO and with, you know, rhetorical attacks and then real threats to invade Greenland, part of Denmark, which is a NATO member.

[clears throat] Excuse me.

You know, former Congressman Joe Walsh and I wrote about these and other ways Trump has assisted Putin.

And Joe and I don't see eye to eye on everything, but we are both clear about the threat Russia poses to world peace and human freedom and about which side Donald Trump is on, the wrong one.

Um, look, a- a- as we were writing that article, uh, news was breaking about Don Jr.'s wedding on a private island in the Bahamas, and within days, of course, we learned a Russian oligarch with close ties to Putin paid for the wedding party and the rental of the whole island for the party.

When the story broke, the Trump family explained, uh, that it's no big deal.

He's just a close friend, and we've never heard of the guy, right? Both at the same time.

All right, let's turn to this week, and really where we have to talk about Trump and Russia again.

I mean, look, Donald Trump is facing a reckoning at the polls here in the United States, and he is desperate.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin, he doesn't have voters, but Russians, as experienced as they are with pain, have limits.

And this week, the two dictators came to each other's aid.

On Friday, they spoke for an hour and a half.

Trump described it as a great conversation.

He said Putin wants peace, and he blamed, uh, Ukrainian President Zelensky for the continued carnage.

Of course, that's not true.

Uh, instead, you know, this week, um, unbelievably, America started to finance Putin's war.

For years, for years, Trump quietly abetted Putin's battles with the West.

He didn't object when Putin launched what's now the biggest land war in Europe since World War II.

Um, uh, he turned a blind eye as Putin, uh, uh, led a hybrid war across, uh, the continent, blowing up shopping malls, uh, cutting communications cables, uh, flooding border crossings with migrants, jamming GPS systems, and interfering with elections.

And of course, we all remember Trump famously asked Putin to help him win his first presidential race, and according to a report of the Senate Intelligence Committee, at the time led by Marco Rubio, um, we know that Russia did.

Uh, Putin is now allied with Iran, um, and provided the Revolutionary Guard with targeting information and intelligence that helped kill Americans and destroy American bases in the region.

Trump's been asked about this.

He says it's not important.

Really? He hosted a summit, remember that, in Alaska that succeeded in only one thing, giving, uh, the Russian dictator a propaganda boost at home.

Uh, Trump ended our government's programs that track money laundering and sanctions evasion, helped Putin continue to fund his war.

Um, he launched his own assault on NATO and with, you know, rhetorical attacks and then real threats to invade Greenland, part of Denmark, which is a NATO member.

[clears throat] Excuse me.

You know, former Congressman Joe Walsh and I wrote about these and other ways Trump has assisted Putin.

And Joe and I don't see eye to eye on everything, but we are both clear about the threat Russia poses to world peace and human freedom and about which side Donald Trump is on, the wrong one.

Um, look, a- a- as we were writing that article, uh, news was breaking about Don Jr.'s wedding on a private island in the Bahamas, and within days, of course, we learned a Russian oligarch with close ties to Putin paid for the wedding party and the rental of the whole island for the party.

When the story broke, the Trump family explained, uh, that it's no big deal.

He's just a close friend, and we've never heard of the guy, right? Both at the same time.