Trump another Putin?
Introductory Comments and Article
From across the European continent comes this observation from an attorney in the Netherlands. She sees beyond the American political landscape observing the dangerous precedent set by the whole debacle concerning Donald Trump, and its effects on US democracy and that of other nations. The similarities between Trump and Putin are so striking that they should generate grave concern for 2024 and the prospect of his return to power or at least the chaotic effects on the American democratic process. What Putin has done is what Trump would like to do, use lies, gross exaggerations, false narratives and enable a host of power-hungry sycophants to accomplish his misguided dreams. If he does achieve power, either directly or through his loyalist worshippers, he will turn the American dream into the world’s nightmare. (RJG)
Marcia Meoli: How do Americans not see that Trump is just another Putin?
Marcia Meoli
March 18, 2022·
The Holland Sentinel
For those of you out there who still support former President Trump, I thought it would be important to mention what he has said about Vladimir Putin’s action to have his country invade Ukraine this past month.
Before I do that, however, I want to mention what Putin said on his way to attacking his brother country. He made false statements about Ukrainian atrocities against Russian-speaking people in Ukraine and that Western nations want to use Ukraine as a springboard to invade and destroy Russia.
He has never accepted that some of countries the USSR dominated after World War II joined NATO after the dissolution of the USSR. NATO is an organization created in reaction to the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe. But the last time NATO admitted a former Soviet country was in 2004. (Other countries joined in 2009, 2017 and 2020, but they were previously part of Yugoslavia, which was a dictatorship, but not Soviet.) So, assuming NATO expansion is a threat to Russia, nothing has happened in that direction for 18 years. He seems to blame the West, and U.S. in particular, for most of the problems of Russia and its predecessor going back to WWII and before.
All hogwash.
And nowhere does Putin seem to spend time thinking about what the people in those countries, like Ukraine, want. He alone will decide what happens to them and force his view upon them. Then he warns anyone who tries to intervene: “Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history.”
Sound familiar? This is what former President Trump said more than once while in office. He said it in 2017 when he threatened North Korea with “fire and fury like the world has never seen.” One year later, in 2018, he declared that North Korea posed no nuclear threat after meeting directly with the North Korean dictator, posing with photos with that man and leaving with nothing. So far as I can tell, the situation with North Korea at the end of his presidency was not different than at the beginning. He made no progress on that problem.
Which brings us to Trump’s statements about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He referred to Putin as “savvy” and “genius” and the invasion as “smart.” His admiration here reminds me of his numerous statements of admiration for dictators who forced their will on people in their own countries. Remember, in 2018, what Trump said after the Chinese leader Xi Jinping secured indefinite rule over his country: “Maybe we’ll have to give that a shot some day.”
Well, maybe, if Trump gets back in office, we will give it a shot to attack another country (again). Or perhaps we can see the poisoning of political opposition leaders. Trump already called the press the “enemy of the state” as Putin has, so that can resume. Trump can take a page from Putin and advocate for laws which make it illegal for the press to cover certain events. (Sound familiar? Isn’t that what some states are now doing with education on subjects which make white people feel guilty?) We can watch Trump copy Putin to basically use the entire government to consolidate riches for himself. With the various investigations going on, we may find out soon in detail how Trump already did that while in office.
One thing seems certain: With Trump, we get a constant stream of false narratives on just about everything. Like Putin.
People who voted for Trump — and the Republican Party which still enables him — need to think about this as they go forward. How much are you willing to stomach? Calling Jan. 6, 2021, “legitimate political discourse” is illegitimate political leadership. It is no less culpable than giving a gun to a troubled teen and sending him off to school.
Another thing seems certain: If people continue to support Trump and put him back in office, he will interpret that as the go-ahead to do all these things and more. And it won’t be as simple as someone getting shot on Fifth Avenue, New York.
— Community Columnist Marcia Meoli is a Holland attorney and resident. Contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Marcia Meoli: How do Americans not see that Trump is just another Putin?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/marcia-meoli-americans-not-see-041509994.html
