The Communist Party of the USSR had two categories for helpful people who were not members: fellow travelers and useful idiots. Fellow travelers openly subscribed to and worked to further the Party’s goals. Useful idiots might have no interest in the Party, but they acted in ways that helped the Party. The terms predate the Cold War and were originated by Leon Trotsky and Vladimir Lenin. Their use became particularly charged during the Cold War. When the Soviet Union collapsed, they were abandoned.

The debate surrounding Donald Trump’s relationship with Russia is whether he is a fellow traveler –consciously working for Russia – or a useful idiot, acting in ways that benefit Russia although that may not be his plan. Read More

I’ll wrap up what I’ve found of Donald Trump’s Russia connections in this post. The Trump campaign put serious effort into only one plank of the Republican platform – not building the wall, not surveilling Muslims, but something Trump didn’t say much about until this week: Ukraine.

I’ve also got a selection of Trump quotes on Russia for you, along with more links on the hack of the DNC and why it’s probably Russia that did it.

Earlier posts in this series here and here. Read More

Donald Trump just released tweets saying that he has no investments in Russia and that the issue is a Democratic plot to divert attention from the emails released by hackers. The response on Twitter has been overwhelmingly “But what investments does Russia have in you?” Here’s what I’ve been able to pull out of articles on his financial dealings with Russia. There isn’t a lot. If you find more, let me know! Read More