Trump and Putin

It’s not hard to imagine a conversation Trump is having about now with one of his trusted sycophants, Trump saying, “Putin is a tremendous guy. He’s doing what he should be doing, making Russia great again.” Trump enjoys thinking of himself and Putin as two tremendous guys making their countries great again.

The MAGA slogan helped Trump reach the White House, though he didn’t have any idea of how to make America great or care whether America was great. He just had a slogan. Putin doesn’t have a slogan but he actually wants to make Russia great again. His idea of that is restoring the Russian imperial empire to what it was when he started working for the KGB. He’s obsessed with the idea of restoring Russia to what he sees as its former glory. His obsession, rather than rational thought, is his guide.