In a letter to the editor on March 27, Bill Taylor stated: “When Vladimir Putin ‘won’ a crooked election to the presidency of Russia, Obama congratulated him on his ‘victory.’ He was hailed for wanting to ‘reset’ relations with Russia. When Trump congratulated Putin for ‘winning’ the latest ‘election,’ Trump was criticized.”
President Obama’s “congratulations” were: before Putin’s thugs invaded Ukraine; before Putin’s meddling in Western democratic elections (including ours); before Putin nefariously eliminated his only credible opponent for Russian president in their last election; before Putin’s henchmen poisoned his personal enemies (fellow countrymen) with ghastly plutonium poisons; before Putin stated “I don’t have bad days because I am not a woman.”
While Taylor is technically correct in the fact that both Obama and Trump congratulated Putin, Obama never acted as though Putin was one of his buddies. President Trump himself has never criticized Putin. Trump basks in the glow of Putin and other dictators. President Trump relishes the authoritarian model.
NANCY HEATH
Epsom