Putin's American BFF

One of the lightly covered aspects of neo-fascist demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump is his affinity for foreign dictators and despots, from Kim Jong-Un to Vladimir "Vlad the Invader" Putin. In particular, he's stated his admiration for Putin on several occasions, using such descriptions as "strong leader" who's "doing a great job" rebuilding Russia (i.e., annexing the Crimea and invading eastern Ukraine). To no one's surprise, the feeling is reciprocated by Putin, but for different reasons than the clueless narcissist Rump might comprehend.

In his article in Slate, Franklin Foer explains how Putin sees Rump as a useful tool in his ambitions for a Greater Russia that would expand to boarders similar to those of the former Soviet Union (the collapse of which Putin sees as a "genuine tragedy"). Key to that strategy is undermining European economic and security structures in order to pave the way for Russia's expansion back into eastern Europe and, perhaps, beyond.  Rump has voiced the opinions that NATO may be obsolete and that the U.S. needs to pull back on its commitments (that goes for our Asian allies, too). Rump's support of the destructive "Brexit" vote also signals to Putin that he is unconcerned with the breakup of the European Union, much to Putin's delight.

With Putin also throwing Russia's support behind right-wing factions in France (Le Pen) and Italy (Berlusconi) among others, it's clear that he sees xenophobic nationalism in his European neighbors not as a threat (after all, he's the one with the nukes), but as an opportunity for strengthening Russia's position against a fractured and backbiting Europe. He'd like nothing better from his new best friend in America than to help him with that.