Now that Donald Trump has been handed command, how soon and in what manner will he repay Vladimir Putin? There are sundry ways Trump could help Putin: relaxing/eliminating sanctions, 'turning the other cheek' on Putin's future transgressions against his political opponents, tacitly or openly abandoning support for Ukraine....
There are many ways Trump can help Vlad, but what Putin really wants and needs is higher oil prices. The collapse in oil has devastated the Russian economy. Some estimate oil needs to climb as high as $90 to reverse this trend. U.S. Oil closed at $52.42 on Inauguration Day ($55.49 Brent).
How will Trump bump oil? Heavy duty deficit spending to spur U.S. economic growth could help. But it is hard to imagine how increased government spending would drive a nearly 70 percent increase in oil the simple fact that frackers, sidelined now for a few years, stand eagerly awaiting the $60 range before ramping up in big numbers. The frackers should act as a cap on prices (if not another catalyst for a big drop again.)
War, on the other hand, could definitely spark a rally. And Trump just promised a big fight:
"We will... unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth."
His first target? Iran seems a likely candidate. His potential undersecretary of State, John Bolton, has already publicly declared his desire to bomb them (either directly or via our proxy Israel). But it doesn't really matter who so long as they have oil. It would also help if the country had a "proven" link to "radical Islamic terrorism...."
