In one of the more memorable exchanges of the presidential debate, Vice President Kamala Harris told former president Donald Trump that Vladimir Putin would “eat you for lunch”—figuratively, of course. But she has a point. Mr. Putin would be delighted to see Mr. Trump return to the White House. That should surprise no one.

Mr. Trump has an affinity for autocratic leaders. For years, he has voiced a decidedly positive view of Mr. Putin. In 2015, he referred to the Kremlin autocrat as a “strong leader” while side-stepping questions about the treatment of political opponents in Russia or Moscow’s penchant for invading other countries.

For someone who claims “nobody’s been tougher on Russia,” Mr. Trump finds it difficult to condemn Mr. Putin or his egregious actions. When Russia muscled into Ukraine in 2022, one might have hoped for some criticism. Instead: “I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius.’ Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine—of Ukraine—Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful…”

As Russia’s war on Ukraine has grown into the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II, Mr. Putin knows Mr. Trump is no friend of Kyiv. During Mr. Trump’s four years as president, he had only one major involvement with Ukraine: a 2019 attempt to extort Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky into interfering in U.S. domestic politics.

A skeptic of continued U.S. support for Ukraine, Mr. Trump evaded a direct answer twice when asked during the last debate if he wanted Ukraine to win. He repeated his dubious claim that he could end the war in one day despite the Kremlin’s lack of serious interest in negotiating. As in the past, he did not describe his peace plan, nor did he offer even the “concepts of a plan.”

Couple this with the threat that Mr. Trump poses to NATO. His third national security advisor believes the former president would withdraw the United States from the alliance. In February, Mr. Trump all but invited Russia to invade NATO allies.

If You Are Vladimir Putin, What’s Not to Like?

In the run-up to the presidential debate, the vice president’s political advisors said they wanted her to get under the former president’s skin. The vice president gave a master class in baiting, and Mr. Trump jumped to take the bait just about every time. The fact that someone so easily manipulated could return to the White House is reason for concern.

Mr. Putin spent years as a KGB officer, where one of the most prized skills is the ability to manipulate people through flattery and other means. The Russian leader swayed his American counterpart during their behind-closed-doors meeting in Helsinki in 2018. In the subsequent press conference, Mr. Trump sided with Mr. Putin over the conclusions of the U.S. intelligence community in what The Economist called “Donald Trump’s humiliation in Helsinki.”

It is not just the Russian leader. Mr. Trump rhapsodizes about “beautiful letters” with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, with whom he claimed to have “a great relationship.” Mr. Kim also played Mr. Trump. Despite three meetings (gifts to the generally ostracized North Korean leader) and the exchange of many letters, North Korea increased its nuclear arsenal and continued developing a capability to strike America with long-range ballistic missiles during the former president’s time in office.

The vice president showed how easily Mr. Trump can be manipulated. That only confirms what adversaries such as Mr. Putin and Mr. Kim already know. They hope for his return to the presidency so that they can play him some more.

About the Author: 

Steven Pifer is a retired Foreign Service officer and former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.

Image Credit: Creative Commons.