With his splendid palaces and soldiers opening doors for Putin when delivering a speech, the semi-elected dictator resembles a Caesar.  A religious devotee of the Third Rome and generous benefactor to gilded temples, he recalls the consuls who became deified like gods.

Trump understands what Putin is and has his own loyal troops, banners, slogans and palatial wealth. The Capitol is a Rome with senators and magistrates. The Lincoln statue has the fasces symbol carved on it, the rods of legal power.  Caesars ruled in both west and eastern Rome, with variable mutual relations. Today their border is in Ukraine and retreating towards the west. Napoleon dressed like a caesar, it could maga.