They're at it again...
It might be more appropriate to look at the relationship between Russia and the US like two macho men measuring their penis sizes.
The bravado-style rhetoric coming out of the Kremlin since Donald Trump signed into law a bill imposing sanctions on Russia is both comical and threatening, in equal measure.
Yesterday, the US President was cajoled into signing off the sanctions bill after Congress won an overwhelming vote that Trump was unable to veto.
Ironclad legislation effectively forced Trump’s hand in sanctioning Russia for meddling in the 2016 election, which he opposed because he had hoped to have warmer relations with Vladimir Putin and the federation.
Although The Donald signed the bill on Wednesday, he still maintained that the law was ‘significantly flawed,' contained ‘unconstitutional provisions,’ and impeded his ability to negotiate with other nation states.
In a statement, the president said: ‘Since this bill was first introduced, I have expressed my concerns to Congress about the many ways it improperly encroaches on Executive power, disadvantages American companies, and hurts the interests of our European allies.
‘Yet despite its problems, I am signing this bill for the sake of national unity. It represents the will of the American people to see Russia take steps to improve relations with the United States.’
To many people, this can be put in the ‘win’ column for upholding the pillars of democracy. But for Russia, a pseudo democracy, referred to by some scholars as ‘democratic sovereignty’, Trump’s ‘willingness’ to let Congress pass through legislation was a sign of weakness.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev mocked the reality star-turned-president and stated US sanctions on Moscow ‘ends hope for improving relations’.
‘The Trump administration has shown its total weakness by handing over executive power to Congress in the most humiliating way. This changes the power balance in US political circles,’ he wrote in a statement posted to Facebook.
According to the prime minister, the ‘US establishment fully outwitted Trump’; a remark that's likely to go down like a tonne of bricks with a president who has a Trump Tower-sized ego combined with the frail masculinity of a megalomaniac still in the closet.
Additionally, Russia’s official Twitter account shared a remarkably weird yet wonderful video depicting the country’s folk scene, set to rock music. Although the strange clip is so bizarre that all you can think is ‘lol, Russia’ while watching it, it is apparently another warning to the US about sanctions.
The caption read: ‘Whoever comes to us with #sanctions, from sanctions will perish. We dedicate this video to those who try to hurt us with new sanctions!’