Moscow Times: Putin and Trump Have a Lot in Common (Op-Ed)

At first glance, the coolly austere, judo master ex-spy and the bombastic — positively braggadocious — golf-playing property tycoon may seem to have little in common, even if Trump thinks he'd "get along very well with Vladimir Putin." However, beneath the skin there are some striking parallels that say something rather broader. Both explicitly present themselves not as politicians but as practical men. Indeed, much of their appeal is precisely that they are disconnected from what is regarded as the "political class."

Both espouse a nationalism and a fervent belief in the exceptionalism of their homeland. Admittedly, there is a difference. Putin is an avowed proponent of Russia as a multi-ethnic state albeit one shaped by Russian values, whereas Trump makes no bones about his feelings, whether talking about Mexican "rapists" or implicitly accepting the falsehood that U.S. President Barack Obama is a Muslim.

However, in terms of the bases with which they connect, there is a distinctly similar lowest-common-denominator racism at work. Meanwhile, both believe that a strong nation is a well-armed one. Putin has poured resources into a massive (and increasingly unaffordable) rearmament program, while Trump pledges to make the American military "so big, so strong and so great, so powerful that we're never going to have to use it."

Trump and Putin both offer simple solutions to complex, intractable problems. They offer a refreshing, outspoken, macho alternative to tainted political classes regarded as bland, ineffectual and corrupt. They look out at people's feeling uncertain about their place in a world they once felt was theirs, and tell them that they are special and destined for greatness — and actually seem to mean it rather than just be mouthing the traditional electoral platitudes.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/putin-and-trump-have-a-lot-in-common-op-ed/534406.html

Macho, nationalist and militarist appealing to the lowest-common denominator.