Xi to the left of me
Putin to the right
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.
From the Stealer’s Wheel song.
Did you see the expression on Putin’s face when he greeted MBS yesterday? It was like “Mr. Bone Saw! I wish I had the nerve to do that! You da man!” Putin, of course, has no reason to conceal his admiration for creatively murderous strong men, so he didn’t.
Trump, on the other hand, wore a vintage grumpy cat look. Like Putin, he admires strong men, but he has to worry about the optics back home. He can’t completely embrace authoritarians, and he won’t embrace democratic leaders, so who’s left?
Abe, I guess. He sucks up to Trump at every possible opportunity. In private, I’m sure he thinks Trump is a dangerous moron.