Never mind that during the campaign — or for months afterward — Trump repeatedly dismissed or belittled reports of Russian interference. In his tweet, Trump demanded a “look at the facts,” so let’s see whether he has a case for toughness. The answer is not necessarily clear. It depends on whether one looks at presidential tone or the administration’s actions.
The Facts
Obama, much like Trump, entered office seeking to improve relations with Russia, even to the point that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented the Russian foreign minister with a button marked with what was meant to be the word “reset” (with the word misspelled in Russian). Vladimir Putin, because of term limits, was forced to step down as president, and Obama thought he had forged a connection with Dmitry Medvedev, who filled the one-term gap before Putin returned to the presidency. The United States and Russia completed a nuclear-weapons agreement, and Obama paved the way for Russia to join the World Trade Organization.
During the 2012 campaign, Obama famously knocked GOP nominee Mitt Romney for calling Russia the “No. 1 geopolitical foe” of the United States. In a zinger that now looks foolish in retrospect, Obama chided Romney during the third presidential debate: “The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold War’s been over for 20 years.”
The Obama administration also initially pushed back against congressional efforts to pass the Magnitsky Act, intended to punish Russia for the death of tax accountant Sergei Magnitsky in a Moscow prison in 2009, out of fear that it would derail the reset effort.
source: washingtonpost
