Trump's many fawning accolades ("so nice") for Putin, head of the Russian Mafia state

Whereas Donald Trump has lambasted America's most prominent political and military leaders over the years,¹ including Mark Milley,² the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Admiral Bill McRaven,³ who led the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, he has repeatedly, dozens of times, adorned Putin with obsequious, reciprocated praise.⁴

On August 18, 2023, for example, Trump said on Fox News that he "was the apple of his [Putin's] eye."⁵ In 2022, he described Putin's pretext for the invasion of Ukraine as "genius" and "savvy."⁶ Trump said it was "so smart" for Putin to declare a big portion of Ukraine as independent before the invasion so that he could then "go in" and "be a peacekeeper."⁷ Trump said that the US could use its own "peace force" with masses of tanks, like Putin's, "on our southern border."⁸ On August 9, 2024, Trump said that Putin and Chinese President Xi "were lovely individuals."⁹

In several press interviews in 2014, Trump described meeting Putin and speaking with him at the Miss Universe pageant in 2014.¹⁰ Trump said that Putin was "so nice," "couldn't have been nicer," that he received "a gift from Putin", and that Putin treated him "unbelievably well."¹¹ He added on October 6, 2015, "we got along great, by the way."¹²

But on July 27, 2016, as suspicions mounted that Putin had directed a Russian election meddling operation in support of his US crony, Trump said he "never met Putin," adding later that day,"I never met Putin," and "I don't know who Putin is."¹³ He said again on October 9, 2016, "I don't know who Putin is."¹⁴

On January 13, 2017, after US intelligence determined that Russia had in fact meddled in the November 2016 election, Trump tweeted, "Russia says nothing exists."¹⁵ Trump later elaborated that Putin "said he didn't meddle," and when Putin "tells me that, he means it."¹⁶ Trump later added that he believed that Putin was "sincere" in his denials and "insulted" by the charges that he meddled, while the US's top intelligence officials were "political hacks."¹⁷

Trump basked in the reciprocal praise of him by Putin, commenting about Putin, "It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond."¹⁸

At a G20 summit dinner in Hamburg in July 2017, Trump wandered over to Putin and spoke with him for an hour with only a Russian translator listening in, a breach of US security protocol that raised serious concerns among US and foreign diplomats and intelligence officials.¹⁹

In summary, while Trump has berated America's top military and political leaders, he has exhibited congenial ties with Putin dating back to their first meeting in 2014. In 2022, Trump praised Putin's pretext for the invasion of Ukraine as "genius" and "savvy," and in 2023, Trump said that he was "the apple of his [Putin's] eye." It was thus not surprising, yet alarming, when Trump declared at a rally in Conway, South Carolina on February 10, 2024, Russia, do "whatever the hell you want" to a NATO country with low defense spending.

1. Politico, "Trump attacks everyone but Russia," February 18, 2018, https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/18/trump-twitter-mueller-fbi-russia-scandal-416858.
2. Politico, "Milley was one of Trump's favorite generals. Now he's a villain of the right.," June 30, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/30/trump-milley-shouting-match-resign-497203.
3. NBC News, "Trump blasts retired Navy SEAL critical of him, suggesting he should've caught Bin Laden sooner," November 18, 2018, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-blasts-retired-navy-seal-critical-him-saying-he-should-n937716.
4. The Washington Post, "Inside Trump's financial ties to Russia and his unusual flattery of Vladimir Putin," June 17, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-trumps-financial-ties-to-russia-and-his-unusual-flattery-of-vladimir-putin/2016/06/17/dbdcaac8-31a6-11e6-8ff7-7b6c1998b7a0_story.html; CNN, "80 times Trump talked about Putin," March 21, 2017, https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/03/politics/trump-putin-russia-timeline; Mother Jones, "A history of Donald Trump's bromance with Vladimir Putin," October 5, 2016, https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/trump-putin-timeline.
5. The Independent, "Trump boasts about his relationship with Putin saying he was 'the apple of His eye,'" August 19, 2023, https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-ukraine-russia-b2396001.html; Remarks of Trump during his appearance on Fox Business' Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show, at time 00:05:09, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI8ifwwwoj0; [Another video source:] Remarks of Trump during his appearance on Fox Business' Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show, excerpt posted on X on August 19, 2023, 2023, https://x.com/New_Narrative/status/1692852391526236342.
6. Politico, "Trump calls Putin 'genius' and 'savvy' for Ukraine Invasion," February 23, 2022, https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/23/trump-putin-ukraine-invasion-00010923.
7. Politico, February 23, 2022, op. cit.; "Trump praises Putin for his move into Ukraine, calling It 'genius,'" The Week, February 22, 2022, https://theweek.com/donald-trump/1010488/trump-praises-putin-for-his-move-into-ukraine-calling-it-genius.
8. The Week, February 22, 2022, op. cit.
9. The Hill, "Vance says 'nothing wrong' with Trump 'complimenting' leaders like Xi, Putin," August 11, 2024, https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4822595-vance-says-nothing-wrong-with-trump-complimenting-leaders-like-xi-putin/.
10. CNN, March 21, 2017, op. cit.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. The Washington Post, "Every Russia story Trump said was a hoax by Democrats: A Timeline," June 1, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/06/01/every-russia-story-trump-said-was-a-hoax-by-democrats-a-timeline/.
16. The Washington Post, "'He said he didn't meddle': Trump talks with Putin about U.S. elections and Syria in brief interactions," November 11, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/he-said-he-didnt-meddle-trump-talks-with-putin-about-us-elections-and-syria-in-brief-interactions/2017/11/11/fbcfe4c2-c6ff-11e7-afe9-4f60b5a6c4a0_story.html.
17. The Washington Post, "James B. Comey, called a 'liar' and 'leaker' by Trump, tweets a quote about truth and justice," November 12, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/11/12/james-b-comey-called-a-liar-and-leaker-by-trump-tweets-a-quote-about-truth-and-justice/; Politico, February 18, 2018, op. cit.
18. Mother Jones, October 5, 2016, op. cit.
19. The New York Times, "Trump and Putin Held a Second, Undisclosed, Private Conversation," July 18, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/18/world/europe/trump-putin-undisclosed-meeting.html; BBC News, "Trump and Putin had another, undisclosed conversation at G20," July 19, 2017, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40651502; The Independent, "Trump held secret hour-long meeting with Putin at G20 with only Russian translator present," July 18, 2017, https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-putin-meeting-russia-us-g20-undisclosed-white-house-confirms-a7848061.html; CNN, "Trump, Putin met for nearly an hour in second G20 meeting," July 19, 2017, https://www.cnn.com/2017/07/18/politics/trump-putin-g20/index.html.