Putin just gave a stunning assessment of Trump that speaks volumes

Donald Trump may be one of the least popular and least liked presidents in modern American history, according to a number of national polls, but he has a very big fan in the Kremlin.

During an interview with Russian state television today, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Trump while charging that the American political system was devouring itself.

“I have no disappointment at all (with Trump),” said Putin, according to a report by the Associated Press. 

“Moreover,” continued Putin, “on a personal level, he made a very good impression on me.”

Putin, an autocrat who is able to steamroll over opposition at home, does not feel as sanguine about the American political system.

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He says it has “demonstrated its inefficiency and has been eating itself up.”

“It’s quite difficult to interact with such a system,” complains Putin, “because it’s unpredictable.”

That is not the case in Russia these days, where Putin has been able to get the courts to rule that his main opponent in an upcoming presidential election is not eligible to run, making him a sure thing to win re-election.

Putin doesn’t have to worry about the legislature, which rubber stamps his every decision, or the billionaire oligarchs who cut him in on all of their profits or even the press, which he keeps under his thumb by shutting down offending publications and, when necessary, murdering journalists who refuse to slant the news to his point of view.

During the 2016 election, Trump claimed that he had never met Putin, but since his election, they have met at least twice – at the G20 summit in Germany and in November when both were in Vietnam.

Trump has toned down his compliments about Putin since the investigations into Russian interference in the election has become a serious concern, but the American president still treats the Russian with deference and failed to implement additional sanctions even after they were approved by a bipartisan majority in Congress. 

Putin has repeatedly denied Russia interfered in the U.S. elections — as did Trump until last month when Special Counsel Robert Muller indicted 13 Russian nationals in a very detailed indictment that named the Americans whose identities were stolen to spread propaganda, falsehoods and other inaccurate information on social media.

In the interview, Putin complained about Western sanctions over the invasion of Crimea and the military trouble he facilitated in Ukraine, which he said were the result of “illegitimate and unfair” efforts to constrain Russia, adding “we will win in the long run.”

“Those who serve us poison,” said Putin, “will eventually swallow it and poison themselves.”

Putin last week announced new Russian nuclear weapons and delivery systems that he said the West would not be able to stop, but Trump has said little about that, instead spending his time tweeting about minor matters at home.

In the interview, Putin made it clear if necessary he will use those deadly weapons.

“The decision to use nuclear weapons can only be made if our early warning system not only detects a missile launch but clearly forecasts its flight path and the time when warheads will reach the Russian territory,” said Putin.

“If someone makes a decision to destroy Russia,” added Putin, “then we have a legitimate right to respond.”

“Yes, it will mean a global catastrophe for mankind, for the entire world,” added Putin. “But as a citizen of Russia and the head of the Russian state, I would ask: What is such a world for if there were no Russia?”

In an article in Politico today, the Russian ambassador to the U.S. lamented that lawmakers on Capitol Hill refuse to meet with Russian diplomats because of the U.S. intelligence community assessment that the Kremlin did interfere in the election.

Ambassador Anatoly Antonov complained ‘The Congress, overwhelmed by Russophobia, is led by politically-biased emotions, rather than a clear-thinking mind. We are bluntly told they fear criticism.”

Apparently, Putin considers Trump an exception who is thinking clearly, according to his authoritarian view, which means he sees the president favoring the Russians. 

It has become politically incorrect even for Trump to express his love for Putin, his high regard for the way business and politics are done in Russia and his belief the whole Russian interference claim is overblown if not untrue.

However, it is not hard to see that he still thinks that way, so no wonder Putin still loves him.

You can almost hear Putin pulling the strings as Trump talks about how great it would be if he could be president for life.

For the rest of America, that is a nightmare that can never be allowed to happen.

Benjamin Locke

Benjamin Locke is a retired college professor with an undergraduate degree in Industrial Labor and Relations from Cornell University and an MBA from the European School of Management.