Is Trump trying to pull Putin away from China – and can it work?

Observers say Trump wants to pull off a ‘reverse Nixon’ by deepening ties with Russia, but is that even possible?

As US President Donald Trump sat in the Oval Office on February 28 with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for an explosive meeting that would reveal deep fissures between Washington and Kyiv, he was also asked by a reporter about another world leader: Vladimir Putin.

In the very setting in which he joined forces with Vice President JD Vance to berate Zelenskyy for not being grateful to the US for its military and financial aid, and for not backing his attempts at diplomacy with Moscow, Trump had more sympathetic words for the Russian president.

“Let me tell you, Putin went through a hell of a lot with me,” Trump said, referring to the persistent allegations from opposition Democrats that Russia helped him come to power, which overshadowed his first term.

Two weeks later, as Ukraine has accepted – under Trump pressure – a ceasefire with Russia without offering Kyiv the security guarantees it seeks, the question of what’s driving the United States president to go relatively soft on Putin is once again grabbing headlines.

One theory has gained some ground in recent days. Trump, some strategists argue, is attempting a subtle geopolitical manoeuvre: By pulling Russia closer to the US, he is trying to wean it away from China, Washington’s biggest long-term rival and Moscow’s biggest benefactor.