During the OneDecision Podcast, McCabe elaborated that while he does not consider Trump an “active, recruited, knowing asset” in the conventional intelligence sense, Trump’s actions regarding Russia merit serious questioning.McCabe highlighted Trump’s “fawning admiration” for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his public statements about the Russian leader as problematic.
“I don’t know that I would characterize it as an active, recruited, knowing asset in the way that people in the intelligence community think of that term. But I do think that Donald Trump has given us many reasons to question his approach to the Russia problem in the United States,” he said.
“And I think his approach to interacting with Vladimir Putin, be it phone calls, face to face meetings, the things that he has said in public about Putin, all raise significant questions,” he added.
Trump has previously claimed that his relationship with Putin could have prevented the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Last year, Trump claimed, “Putin would’ve never gotten into Ukraine, but that’s just on my relationship with him.” McCabe pointed out that such comments, along with Trump’s general approach to Russia, raise “significant questions.”
McCabe also questioned Trump’s stance on US support for Ukraine and NATO, suggesting that Trump’s attitudes might reflect a “fundamental misunderstanding” or a deeper, more troubling relationship with Putin.
These comments follow the FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report, which confirmed Russian interference in the 2016 election but did not find direct collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russian officials. Mueller, who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election, hinted at possible obstruction of justice by President Trump. Mueller had revealed he did not charge Trump due to Justice Department regulations prohibiting the indictment of a sitting president.
In his debate with Kamala Harris, Trump avoided endorsing a Ukrainian victory, instead advocating for a swift end to the conflict. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris talked about her efforts to support Ukraine and counter further Russian aggression.