The dark sides of American President Donald Trump

“If Vladimir Putin likes Donald Trump, I consider that an asset, not a liability, because we have a horrible relationship with Russia,” President-elect Donald Trump declared in his wild ride of a news conference on Wednesday. “Now, I don’t know that I’m going to get along with Vladimir Putin. I hope I do. But there’s a good chance I won’t.”

The specific nature of Trump’s relationship with the sinister president of Russia has been giving foreign policy experts shudders for months, climaxing this week in the publication of a dossier with allegations so salacious that they practically gave smelling salts a comeback. Beyond Putin, Trump’s voracious hunger to be liked seems to be one of the defining elements of his personality and, likely, of his presidency. He doesn’t yet seem to have learned that being liked can be a very bad thing and that there are times when it’s worth making an active effort to earn a good enemy.

For the purposes of argument, and given Trump’s well-documented and exceptionally high self-regard, I’m going to assume that Trump believes that Putin likes him because Putin appreciates and admires the quality Trump values most in himself. That’s not unusual; most of us hope to be loved for ourselves, and to be seen in the best possible light. Relationships that proceed on these terms are based on respect and give us reason to expect that the other person involved will be willing to work with us in a constructive fashion, to accept our wishes and ideas as legitimate and to reach compromises that are genuinely agreeable.

Let's find out the the dark sides of American President Donald Trump!