Trump Gushes About Dictators On Tape: ‘I Like Leaders that Are Tougher and Meaner.’

Bob Woodward is releasing eight hours of recorded interviews with Donald Trump, tapes made in contemplation of the books Woodward wrote throughout the administration. In a portion made available to CNN, Trump expands on the leaders he gets along with and excuses the fact that he likes the world’s dictatorial murderers. No one is shocked.

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On Putin:

“I like Putin. Our relationship should be a very good one. I campaigned on getting along with Russia, China and everyone else. Getting along with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing, all right? Especially because they have 1,332 nuclear f–king warheads.”

Wrong. Obviously. Getting along with Russia is a good thing so long as Russia upholds norms and values transparency, human rights, international borders, and many other measures. The single weakest position is “I want to get along with Putin because he has over a thousand nuclear warheads.” Stunning but not a surprise.

Moving on:

“It’s funny, the relationships I have, the tougher and meaner they are, the better I get along with them. You know? Explain that to me someday, okay. But maybe it’s not a bad thing. The easy ones are the ones I maybe don’t like as much or don’t get along with as much.”

Sure. We can explain that right now. Trump wants the kind of dictatorial power these people hold. They answer to no one, and Trump loves that. Additionally, the leaders that answer to no one can bribe Trump or flatter him and then rob him (and the U.S.) blind. Trump doesn’t like Trudeau, Macron, and Merkle because they lead democracies and are there representing their country. It is not personal. It is about principles. Trump doesn’t “govern” by principles. The GOP didn’t even draw up a platform in 2020. Dictators don’t govern by principles. It is person-to-person, transactional, and who cares if a lot of people suffer along the way.

And the ultimate:

I get along very well with Erdoğan, even though you’re not supposed to because everyone says what a horrible guy. But you know for me it works out good.

There is it. “For me, it works out good.” Imperfect grammar and all. This is Trump at his Trumpiest. Because it’s all about him, it doesn’t matter that Erdogan is a horrible person, as Trump tacitly acknowledges. For Trump – as a person – it all works out.

The common thread is obviously that Trump prefers fascists because everything is transactional and Trump is in his comfort zone, trading national issue for national issue because Trump doesn’t care that Putin illegally annexed Crimea, doesn’t care that Erdogan is a racist semi-fascist, nor that Kim regularly has his own people killed. None of those “principles” matter in Trump’s world and likely never have. He is a fascist and lays it right on the table. Trump is fine with a world run on brute force.

If he is ever elected again, he can rightly point to the fact that he told us what he wanted and what he valued all along.

Jason Miciak

@JasonMiciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, and currently studies philosophy of science, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact with any concerns.