Under Putin’s Spell: Bush, Trump, & the West’s Love of Putin
The former US President George W. Bush had quite a complex relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Bush initially praised Putin as a trustworthy partner, but their relationship became strained due to disagreements over human rights violations, lack of press freedom, and conflicts like the 2008 “Five Day War” in Georgia. Of course, more recently Bush also expressed concern about Russia’s actions in Syria and Ukraine.
Trump similarly liked Putin from the start — but for very different reasons. For Trump, Putin was someone who could enrich him. It was only about capital gains and prestige for Trump, he cares about little else. Putin was quite happy since Trump’s disregard for American democracy and rule of law justified Russia’s foreign expansionism.
But why were both so wrong about Putin and the potential of cooperation between the two former chief political rivals of the 20th century?
In 2001, during their first meeting, President George W. Bush famously said that he had looked into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s eyes and “was able to get a sense of his soul.” This comment was widely reported and became a topic of discussion in the media and among political analysts.
