Donald Trump’s second-term relationship with Volodymyr Zelensky got off to a disastrous start. On Feb. 19, 2025, the U.S. president blasted the courageous Ukrainian leader as a “modestly successful comedian” and a “Dictator without Elections” who “has done a terrible job.” Nine days later, Trump berated Zelensky in the Oval Office for not ending the war that Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin had started. “You don’t have the cards,” Trump told him before temporarily suspending U.S. military aid to Ukraine.
Not for the first time, it seems the wily Putin has manipulated a credulous Trump. The U.S. president is now blaming Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries for the soaring oil prices that are exacerbating his political woes. Never mind that his war in Iran is the actual culprit. If Republicans lose the midterms, Trump has a ready-made scapegoat.
What explains Trump’s bizarre affinity for Putin? The Russian warmonger is standing in the way of his goal of winning a Nobel Peace Prize. Shouldn’t Trump be mad at him? I have long since given up believing in conspiratorial explanations of the relationship. If evidence for some nefarious tie existed, it would’ve been uncovered by now, especially after four years of Democratic control of the executive branch.
It hadn’t occurred to me that Trump views Putin as a fellow billionaire, but it’s true. Putin’s net worth has been estimated at $70 billion to $200 billion. Trump, who made more than $2 billion last year, no doubt respects anyone who manages to make so much money in office while clinging to power for so long. He seldom has a cross word for any dictator, while regularly berating democratic allies. Whatever the explanation, Trump’s willingness to do the bidding of a murderous despot is despicable and dangerous.
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