It really was a joke. The transcript of the conversation that took place in June 2016, published by The Post, is very clear. So is the context. Republican politicians are discussing Russia and Ukraine at a congressional leadership meeting. Some of them have just met the Ukrainian prime minister, Vladimir Groysman, who described the situation in his country. House Speaker Paul Ryan says that Groysman “has this really interesting riff” about what Russia is doing in Ukraine: “Financing [Ukraine’s] populists, financing people in our governments to undo our governments.”
Trump’s Russia ties
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Anne Applebaum: Yes, GOP leaders were making a joke about Putin and Trump. But then it sunk in
A mural depicting a winking Vladimir Putin taking off his Donald Trump mask is painted on a storefront outside of the Levee bar in Brooklyn on Feb. 25 in New York City.
