A cynical lovefest
For Donald Trump, nothing merits respect more than high poll numbers, including his own, which the Republican presidential hopeful equates with strength, intelligence and success. In Trump’s worldview, that simplistic formulation is reason alone to accord deference and esteem to Vladimir Putin.
For his part, Putin, whose cynicism and snarling vulgarity are mirrored in Trump’s own political oratory, sees in the U.S. mogul a man after his own heart.
Their mutual admiration society got a public airing last week when the Russian leader confessed his admiration for Trump (“a very bright and talented man” and an “absolute leader in the presidential race”) and Trump immediately returned the favor, saying he was “greatly honored” by Putin’s praise.
So what if Putin has ordered the killing of journalists and the invasion of Crimea, Trump said Friday, in response to a question from MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, “He’s running his country, and at least he’s a leader,” said Trump. “Unlike what we have in this country.”
What the two men share, and recognize in each other, goes beyond strong polling numbers, an affinity for incendiary language and a contempt for those (with President Obama leading the list) they regard as weak.
Much as Putin has muzzled free expression in the media, marginalized political opponents and scrapped contested elections, Trump has blithely endorsed shutting down parts of the Internet, praised President Franklin D. Roosevelt for interning Japanese Americans during World War II, and openly contemplated registering Muslims in America.
Where Putin sees corruption as the norm, Trump similarly regards public service as a marketplace in which anyone and everyone can be bought. “I give to everybody,” Trump told a New Hampshire audience in the summer. “They do whatever I want. It’s true.”
Granted, Trump, his rhetoric notwithstanding, is hardly in Putin’s league as a vicious tyrant. Trump’s critics are subjected only to the venom of his insults; Putin’s have a way of ending up in prison, or shot to death in the street.