Russian president Vladimir Putin has made quite a splash during his presidency with statements like “Russia must cleanse itself of homosexuality” and actions like censoring journalists and artists that aren’t quite fans of his. That awesome (sarcasm) resume proves that Putin is totally man crush material, right? Not! Well, maybe if you’re Donald Trump. Or Mike Pence. Or any Trump supporter, ever.
“He’s been a leader,” Trump proclaimed of Putin, “far more than our president has been a leader.” By leader, do you mean anti-progressive, retroactive in the fight for human rights, and totally against freedom of speech? If so, then he’s totally a leader! It should come as no surprise that republican presidential nominee Donald Trump stands behind Vladimir Putin. Trump has stated that, if elected president, he would appoint Supreme Court judges who would be committed to overturning the same-sex marriage equality Supreme Court ruling. Moreover, he expressed great support for North Carolina’s extremely discriminatory and anti-LGBTQ HB2 bill. And to add fuel to the already burning hot fire of hatred, he added Mike Pence to his ticket as his running mate, who has been absolutely terrible for LGBTQ rights! It almost seems like he’s trying to erase any human rights that LGBTQ people have.
But Trump’s weird man crush on Putin is surprisingly not shared with all of the republican party. Maybe republicans do have a conscience… but probably not. In light of Trump’s love, speaker of the house Paul Ryan stated his opposition to Putin: “Vladimir Putin is an aggressor who does not share our interests,” then (rightfully) accusing him of “state-sponsored cyberattacks.” Former presidential candidate Marco Rubio (R-Florida) also rejects the Russian’s ideals: “He’s a thug,” Rubio said, “he’s a dangerous and bad guy.” Despite the 3rd grade level vocabulary, props to Rubio for not supporting the maniacal Russian president. Even the GOP Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said that “Trump is wrong on Putin.”
Okay, okay. Not everyone needs to share the beautiful connection between the two conservatives, but the more the merrier, right? So let’s throw republican politician and former mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani into the mix: “That’s what you call a leader,” he said of Putin following his totally inhumane invasion of Ukraine. This relationship is getting kind of complicated; Trump, Putin, Pence, and now Giuliani? Too much bigotry and drama for me.
Love never exists without objection, though, right? White feminist witch and democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton makes a great point about the uncomfortable relationship between the authoritarian ruler and the crusty Cheeto: “It suggests he will let Putin do whatever Putin wants to do and then make excuses for him.”
Maybe the white devil is right. The notion that potential president Trump will simply be a pawn of Putin is a terrifying thought. And in all seriousness, let’s just hope and pray that the relationship between “President” Trump and Vladimir Putin just doesn’t work out. Maybe (hopefully) they just aren’t meant to be. After all, there are many racist, homophobic, transphobic, and down-right-bigoted fish in the sea.
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