Trump and Putin Play with Their New Toys
To be sure, Vladimir Putin oversees a sprawling kleptocracy
rooted in populist appeals designed to enrich a strongman leader.
Putin sometimes gets described as the richest man in the world
and, of course, Trump is so self-aggrandizing it’s hard to tell the
difference between his governing principles and his personal
economic transactions. He is positioning himself for profits from
crypto currency, plus making international trade deals that
benefit his own family, and a blurred line between government
and private enterprises that can benefit his family.
Trump is, of course, a man-child who desperately needs to flex
his muscles and show the other kids that he is the tough guy on
the block. This lends itself to some interesting oratory and
cognitive mistakes on Trump’s part. Let’s look at some of these
similarities and differences between the two men along with
some conjecture about how they became the authoritarian
leaders they are.

1. Trump doesn’t read anything and he doesn’t learn anything.
   It’s well known among his staff members that he doesn’t read
   briefings or do much to improve himself. Putin is always ahead
   of him.
2. Trump is always trying to find a big ugly common enemy,
   shall we say China. But this is not working very well for him.
   Most presidents try to rally other countries to help – build
   coalitions among common countries. But Trump, and his tough
   guy persona, would rather go it alone. This is a difficult path to
   follow.
3. Trump dislikes and does not trust the administrative state, all
   those government employees doing the work of the nation. He
   sees it from the perspective of an outsider. Putin is a product of
   an administrative culture and knows it from the inside. He can
   control it.
4. Putin’s control over the administrative structure makes him an
   authoritarian of the first order. He doesn’t need to go through a
   variety of administrative steps to get something done. But
   Trump is a novice at such things and has more hurdles to clear.
   So, he compensates for it by bypassing groups and institutions.
   That’s why he uses tools such as executive orders that offer
   quicker fixes for difficult problems.
5. The U. S. has a social media that amplifies messages. And
   while this carries numerous advantages it also makes it possible
   for fringe ideas to gain traction and be more influential than they
   normally would. Yet, even though the United States has taken
   the lead in the production and distribution of these media it is
   Putin who is using these media to his advantage. Interfering with
   the American election is one rather obvious example.
   Trump has made a number of mistakes. He has fallen behind on
   developing new social media uses that can unify Americans and
   serve our political interests. His efforts to create enemies such as
   China have backfired Chinese culture and business interests are
   buried deep in the nature of the country. It’s unlikely that Trump
   will make much progress in disturbing the structure of the
   Chinese economy and culture