The Times story read "Vladimir Putin Chides Turkey, Praises Trump and Talks Up Russia's Economy," NYT 12/17/15). The article went on to quote the Russian president as saying about Donald Trump, "There is no doubt he is a very bright and talented man. It is not our business to assess his merits. That is up to the U.S. voters. But he is an absolute leader in the presidential race." It would have been nice if Trump has issued one of his legendary fiats masking as Tweets, in which he slapped a little honey on the man who buttered his bread. But be that as it may it's plain that the two leaders share two qualities in common: 1) a love of carpet bombing ("DonaldTrump, 'I would bomb the s--- out of' ISIS," Business Insider, 11/15/15) and 2) a dislike for paperwork (ie constitutional protections of free speech, "Donald Trump Thinks He Can Call Bill Gates to Shut Down the Internet," Forbes 12/8/15). Plainly, Trump intends to treat the First Amendment a little the way he would someone who occupied a rent stabilized apartment in a building he wanted to tear down. The Russians haven't been too successful in their campaign to support the agenda of their client Bashar al-Assad; the cost to them of playing hardball in Syria has been one downed Russian passenger jet and a helluva a lot of opprobrium from the rest of the world for supporting a monster. But Putin's approach to foreign policy would go a long way in the competitive New York real estate market where Trump made his bones. Imagine putting Putin in charge of emptying a building filled with middle income tenants like Stuyvesant Town so that he can turn it into a luxury coop. The Russians haven't been very successful in The Ukraine or Afghanistan either, but the bullying tactics used those places would make him an instant success in residential real estate. Trump is a kingmaker who likes naming things. Don't be surprised if you wake up one morning to the sight of a stratospherically high new addition to the New York skyline called Putin Towers--catering to rich Russian oligarchs and sponsored by The Trump Organization. As for Trump with his beautiful Slovenian wife and big mop of blond blow-dried hair, he looks just like the billionaires in Putin's inner circle. Everyone is talking about how palsy-walsy Cruz and Trump have become, but will Putin/Trump be the ultimate bromance to emerge from the contest for the Republican presidential nomination?
{This was originally posted to The Screaming Pope, Francis Levy's blog of rants and reactions to contemporary politics, art and culture}