Trump wasn't 'duped' by Russian disinformation -- he spreads it willingly to 'serve his own corrupt interests': op-ed

In an op-ed for The Washington Post this Wednesday, Greg Sargent argued that President Trump is not simply a "dupe" being manipulated by the Russian disinformation machine. According to him, Trump is willingly cozying up to Vladimir Putin "to serve his own corrupt interests."

Sargent cites the new House Intelligence Committee report that details Trump's alleged "extortion plot" against Ukraine and says it shows why the “Trump as Russian dupe” narrative isn't accurate.

"The new House report vividly dramatizes why Trump undertook his corrupt plot to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to do his political bidding and what that says about Trump’s intentions toward our government and democracy going forward," Sargent writes. "For Trump, the utility of getting Zelensky to announce an investigation validating the lie that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in 2016 wasn’t simply that it would salve his bruised ego over his need for Russian help to win."

"In short, the report demonstrates that Trump’s profiting off Russian sabotage last time, and his efforts to extort Ukraine into helping him again, are the same story — one that will continue," he continues.

When it comes to the "lie" that it was Ukraine that meddled in the 2016 election and not Russia, it's important to remember that Trump wasn't "duped" into spreading it -- he was simply recognizing "an alliance of his own interests" and was willing to corrupt US democracy "for his own malevolent self-interested purposes."

Read the full op-ed over at The Washington Post.