The
civilized world looks upon Mohammed bin Salman and Vladimir Putin as they greet
each other at the G20 Buenos Aires Summit and cannot believe their eyes. These
two suspected (with good cause) murderers are laughing and high-fiving and
fist-bumping like two teenage boys celebrating a little league victory.
One
can only imagine how this image must infuriate Donald Trump, the man who lives
in awe of these two brutal dictators. Trump makes no secret of his admiration
for strong leaders—Putin, Erdogan, Kim Jong-un,
Duarte—men the rest of the world recognize as bullies and murderers.
Among the many criticisms of President Trump
is his seemingly inability to grasp the intricacies of how a Constitutional
republic operates. The idea of checks and balances, a representative government
accountable to the people, the simple concept of respect for those who don’t
agree with you seem foreign to him.
He
can’t understand why his Attorney General is loyal to the Constitution and not
to him. He doesn’t understand why he can’t get the FBI, his FBI, to investigate
his political opponents. He sees the opposition party as not that, but rather
as traitors. In his mind, voting on principle is a vote thrown away.
All
this should come as no surprise. His business empire is built, like most
empires, on nepotism, not sound business practices. There was no board of
director’s oversight. Laws regulating his business were seen as obstructions to
be ignored.
Family,
and the loyalty that family provides, were the cornerstones of the Trump
organization. They remain at the center of the Trump administration.
But to say he doesn’t understand what democracy stands for or how it
works is to shortchange him. That great brain that he is always pointing to, the
one God could have given to anyone, but chose to give it to him, might not be
all Trump imagines it to be, but he would be the first to agree that he ain’t
stupid.
What
bothers him most is not the difference between our system of government and the
governments that his admired dictators rule over, but rather that there has to
be a difference. Why can’t a president possessing his unique talent not still
get the special treatment these dictators receive, despite living in a free
country?
Every
Trump move is questioned—by Democrats and Republicans, as well as foreign
leaders. The press won’t leave him alone. He has publicly voiced his
frustration that the American press won’t defer to him the way the North Korean
press fawns over Kim Jong-un. It’s not that he doesn’t know the reason. It’s
that he doesn’t think the reason should exist.
For
two years, he has had to repeat constantly that there isn’t, and never has
been, any collusion between him and Russia. He barely knows Russia. Yet, he
can’t shake the idea that whenever he makes these proclamations, everyone in
the room is winking and rolling their eyes.
At
the same time, Putin is able to say whatever he wants and no one in Russia
questions his motives.
In Helsinki Trump shared the stage as Putin admitted he wanted Trump to win the 2016 election, an election that Russia interfered with, and who's interference Trump denies. Now, in Buenos Aires, Trump has to pretend his cancelling of talks with Putin is because of Putin's barbaric behavior in Ukraine and has nothing to do with revelations that Russia and Trump are, and have been for a long time, tight as thieves.
Then he must listen as Putin's spokesperson explains that yes, Trump says it's about Ukraine, but the real reason is probably rooted in his domestic problems back home—problems Trump insists don't even exist.
Trump is relegated to tweeting stupid stuff because he can’t speak the
truth, while Putin can say anything he damn well pleases and face no repercussions.
When Trump exclaimed that he could shoot someone in Times Square and get away
with it, even he knew that while his supporters might accept that behavior, such
action would be seen by everyone else as unforgivable. Such is not the case in
their own countries for the real life murderers that Trump holds in such high esteem.
Putin,
Mohammed bin Salman, and guys like them can say and do whatever they want. They
can literally get away with murder, while Trump is unable to get away with what
he considers no more than political shenanigans, things he thinks everyone
does—mainly because they are things he has always done.
Trump
is a great believer of democracy. He just wishes that when a great leader like
him comes along, democracy could cut him some slack, and operate more like a dictatorship.
