Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have something in common, retired Gen. Michael Hayden said Tuesday: Authoritarianism.
"I believe Trump is the current face of authoritarian populism in the United States, and Vladimir Putin is the global poster child for authoritarianism," the former CIA and National Security Agency director told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program.
But at the time, there are "strange echoes" between Trump's campaign as the GOP presidential nominee and President Barack Obama's campaign in 2008, Hayden said, as both said they will "talk to anybody."
"Donald Trump has yet to express a condition which he would impose on Vladimir Putin for which he demands Putin's actions before he gets a better relationship with the United States," said Hayden. "[Trump says] 'if he says nice things about me, I will say nice things about him.' That's not a winning hand."
During last week's NBC/MSNBC Commander-in-Chief Forum, Trump insisted Putin has been a better leader than Obama, and that the United States' generals had been "reduced to rubble" under the leadership of Obama and Hillary Clinton, who was Obama's secretary of state during his first term in office.
Trump has praised Putin's leadership qualities several times during the 2016 election cycle, while the Russian leader last week said he is not taking sides in the election and indicated he was not thrilled by either candidate, but he'll work with whichever one wins.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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