He was elected to make his struggling country great again. He swaggers. He lies, blatantly. He changes his positions on a dime. He’s contemptuous of the media and democratic institutions. He’s a great believer in military action, import substitution, and fossil fuels. Everyone watches him and wonders what he’s going to do next.
Is it Trump or Putin? You decide.
The difference is that Putin is an icy, experienced bastard with clear and understandable objectives. He doesn’t have Trump’s foibles. He’s going to play Trump like a fiddle.