Does Trump Secretly Envy Putin?
Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(Germany) on 15 March 2026
by Reinhard Veser (link to
original)
The Russian president can simply silence unfavorable media. In America, the hurdles for doing that are higher. The current threats from the White House, however, are having an effect far beyond the U.S.
Donald Trump is showing astonishing acquiescence toward Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, despite reports that Russia is helping Iran with target coordinates in attacks on American troops. Maybe Russia is doing it, or maybe not, and, anyway, the U.S. is also giving Ukraine information, Trump said in an interview this weekend.
The U.S. president is less lenient when it comes to American media that are reporting that the Iran war is not going the way he had probably imagined it would.
Is Trump Jealous of Putin?
He accuses them of hurting the U.S. and berates them as being “truly sick.” In response, the chairman whom Trump appointed to the Federal Communications Commission is threatening to withdraw the licenses of outlets which are critical. Does Trump secretly envy Putin for his ability to make good on such threats?
Unlike in Russia, the president’s chances of silencing critics are slim in the U.S. The legal means for prosecuting large outlets are weak, and the hurdles are high.
But the threats reveal intentions that could be dangerous for freedom of the press in the U.S. over the long term. And they have already had effects that reach well beyond the U.S. Authoritarian rulers across the world who, until now, have reined in persecuting journalists because of America’s commitment to a free press no longer have to do so.
Donald Trump is showing astonishing acquiescence toward Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, despite reports that Russia is helping Iran with target coordinates in attacks on American troops. Maybe Russia is doing it, or maybe not, and, anyway, the U.S. is also giving Ukraine information, Trump said in an interview this weekend.
The U.S. president is less lenient when it comes to American media that are reporting that the Iran war is not going the way he had probably imagined it would.
Is Trump Jealous of Putin?
He accuses them of hurting the U.S. and berates them as being “truly sick.” In response, the chairman whom Trump appointed to the Federal Communications Commission is threatening to withdraw the licenses of outlets which are critical. Does Trump secretly envy Putin for his ability to make good on such threats?
Unlike in Russia, the president’s chances of silencing critics are slim in the U.S. The legal means for prosecuting large outlets are weak, and the hurdles are high.
But the threats reveal intentions that could be dangerous for freedom of the press in the U.S. over the long term. And they have already had effects that reach well beyond the U.S. Authoritarian rulers across the world who, until now, have reined in persecuting journalists because of America’s commitment to a free press no longer have to do so.
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