The deference that Trump pays to Vladimir Putin does not, to my eye, require genuine empathy or admiration. (I have my doubts that Trump has any genuinely positive regard for anyone but himself.) He might envy Putin’s power and position and might even respect the ruthlessness exhibited to get there, but Trump’s complimentary attitude, like all Trumpian attitudes, is a purely self-serving performance. Putin must have something on Trump—there are so many possibilities! Trump bows, scrapes, and fawns because really, he has no choice. Putin owns him.
