Trump's own political views are probably closest of all to Putin, for whom Trump had nothing but praise. Here's what Mr Trump said about Putin:
"I think I'd get along very well with Vladimir Putin, I just think so. People say 'what do you mean?' I think I'd get along well with him.”
He met him once, in Moscow.
“He could not have been nicer. He was so nice and so everything. But you have to give him credit that what he’s doing for that country in terms of their world prestige is very strong.”
They have a great relationship.
“The relationship is great, and it would be great if I had the position I should have.”
Look, there's no "relationship", okay?
"I have no relationship with him other than he called me a genius. He said, ‘Donald Trump is a genius and he is going to be the leader of the party and he's going to be the leader of the world or something.’”
Okay, there is a relationship, and Putin was getting reports about everything Trump said in the media, even before he became prez.
"I do have a relationship and I can tell you that he’s very interested in what we’re doing here today. He’s probably very interested in what you and I are saying today, and I’m sure he’s going to be seeing it in some form, but I do have a relationship with him and I think it’s very interesting to see what’s happened.”
Putin gets full marks - much better than democratic American leaders like Obama.
"I will tell you that I think in terms of leadership, he is getting an 'A,' and our president is not doing so well."
Mr Trump gets along so well, he can get Putin to hand over Snowdon.
“I think I get along with him fine. I think he would be absolutely fine. He would never keep somebody like Snowden in Russia. He hates Obama. He doesn't respect Obama. Obama doesn't like him either. But he has no respect for Obama. Has a hatred for Obama. And Snowden is living the life. Look if that -- if I'm president, Putin says, hey, boom, you're gone. I guarantee you this.”
Mr Trump knows how to read a guy. From the standpoint:
“I’ve always had a good instinct about Putin. I just feel that that’s a guy—and I can analyze people and you’re not always right, and it could be that I won’t like him. But I’ve always had a good feeling about him from the standpoint.”
Full marks for invading the Ukraine, stealthily, step by step. Mr Trump wanted to do this in Portland:
“Well, he’s done an amazing job of taking the mantle. And he’s taken it away from the President, and you look at what he’s doing. And so smart. When you see the riots in a country because they’re hurting the Russians, OK, ‘We’ll go and take it over.’ And he really goes step by step by step, and you have to give him a lot of credit.”
Did Mr Trump say how great he is?
"He’s a leader and there’s no question about it, he’s a genius."
If Mr Trump could just get the opportunity to sit down and talk. Presidents don't like to do that these days:
“I would love to be able to get along with Russia. Now, you've had a lot of presidents that haven't taken that tack. Look where we are now. Look where we are now. So, if I can - now, I love to negotiate things, I do it really well, and all that stuff. But - but it's possible I won't be able to get along with Putin.”
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/03/politics/trump-putin-russia-timeline/Oh, I don't know, I think Mr Trump got along fine with Putin - far better than he did with any democratic Western leader. They did, after all, share the same political world view.
Quote:Putanism
- Putin’s personality cult, through glorification in the media,[13] the image of a "national hero",[14]
- strong presidential power,[15] srengthened even in comparison with Yeltsin times,[16]
- strong state control over property,[15] elements of nepotism (cooperative “Ozero”), reliance on siloviki (people from several dozen security agencies, many of whom worked with Putin before he came to power),
- selective application of justice,[17][18] subjectively selective application of the law (“Everything is for the friends, the law is for the enemies”),[19]
- utmost secrecy of power and backstage making of key decisions,[20]
- selective application of justice,[17][18] subjectively selective application of the law (“Everything is for the friends, the law is for the enemies”),[19]
- relatively liberal but non-transparent financial and tax policies,[3]
- “manual control” mode:[20][21][22] a weak technical government that does not have any political weight, with real control of the country from Presidential Administration,[20]
utmost secrecy of power and backstage making of key decisions,[20]
- the authorities' dislike of freedom to express their opinion, censorship,[23]
strategic relations with The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, they say, the property interests of the church[24] and a policy of promoting clericalization of society.[25][26]
- In the international arena, Putinism is characterized by nostalgia in Soviet times and a desire to regain the situation when USSR competed on an equal footing with USA in matters of international politics. Energy is used as an instrument of international politics (so-called “pipeline diplomacy”).[27]
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