, Columnist
Trump Is (Probably) Not a Russian Pawn
Using economic game theory to try and understand the relationship between Trump and Putin.
A cozy pair.
Photographer: Maxim Zmeyev/AFP/Getty Images
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“But if Trump were in Putin’s pocket, why would he be so nice to him in public? Wouldn’t a real KGB pawn keep a proper distance and play a subtler game?”
So goes one of the most common explanations for U.S. President Donald Trump’s behavior at his press conference this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Using economic game theory, I’m going to test this argument. In the end, I find the Trump-is-a-Russian-pawn explanation less convincing than the Trump-is-just-being-Trump argument — though the implications of that are still deeply disturbing.