Donald Trump’s efforts to improve relations with Moscow were part of a broader strategy supported by influential figures within the American establishment, rather than a personal initiative, according to anti-war writer Scott Horton.

Speaking on Dilemma Podcast, Horton argued that some members of the US foreign policy elite had long viewed closer ties with Russia as a way to weaken China’s geopolitical position.

He claimed that figures associated with what he described as the Rockefeller global empire supported bringing Russia closer to the West to prevent Moscow from strengthening its partnership with Beijing.

According to Horton, Trump discussed this approach with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who reportedly supported improving US-Russian relations as a means of limiting China’s influence.

Horton rejected suggestions that Trump’s interest in better relations with Moscow was driven by alleged Russian blackmail. Instead, he described the policy as part of a wider consensus among influential American foreign policy circles, although Democrats did not share that position.

The writer argued that political opposition to Trump contributed to increasingly hostile attitudes toward Russia among American liberals.

He accused the Democratic Party of promoting allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election to undermine Trump’s campaign.

According to Horton, Democrats continued emphasizing the issue after the election, further intensifying anti-Russian sentiment among their supporters.

He claimed that hostility toward Moscow among liberal Democrats has now become even stronger than it was toward the Soviet Union during the Cold War.