Donald Trump Echoes Putin's Sentiments and Calls President Joe Biden an 'Authoritarian'

In an ironic attempt, former President Donald Trump turned to the words of an authoritarian leader to paint President Joe Biden as an authoritarian. At a rally in a packed stadium in New Hampshire, Trump turned to cheering supporters as he claimed that Vladimir Putin thinks Trump's 'persecution' is good for his own country, Russia. “Even Vladimir Putin...says that Biden’s, and this is a quote, politically motivated persecution of his political rival is very good for Russia because it shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others about democracy,” the former president said to his supporters, POLITICO reported.

Trump also gleefully boasted about receiving praise from authoritarian leaders such as Hungarian leader Viktor Orban and North Korea's dictator Kim Jong Un. “Viktor Orbán, the highly respected prime minister of Hungary, said Trump is the man who can save the Western world,” Trump said. He bragged about his friendship with the 'very nice' Kim Jong Un. “He’s not so fond of this administration, but he’s fond of me,” Trump said.

In New Hampshire, the audience applauded when Trump attacked Biden, blaming the current President—as he frequently does throughout his campaign trail—for his numerous legal issues. “They [are] weaponizing law enforcement for high-level election interference because we’re beating them so badly in the polls,” Trump said. The real estate mogul persisted in his disparaging remarks against Biden and Democrats. “Every time the radical left Democrats, Marxists, communists, and fascists indict me, I consider it a badge of honor—because I am being indicted for you,” Trump said, as the audience cheered him on with "We love you.”

Although Trump has received a lot of flak for his association with authoritarian leaders across the world, The Hill reported that the rhetoric is probably doing more for him than working against him. There hasn't been much opposition to Trump from other Republicans, and Republican supporters and politicians have mostly defended him or dismissed the remarks as just another staged media narrative.

While in the White House, Trump cultivated close relationships with autocrats such as Jong Un and Putin, praising them both and, in a notorious move, supporting the former against his intelligence services in an inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. After making a controversial remark earlier this month claiming he would only become a dictator 'on day one,' Trump's detractors have compared him to previous leaders of authoritarian regimes due to his increasingly heated speech. However, after repeating the day-one comment at a party in New York, Trump claimed on Truth Social that it was a joke.

The reaction to the former President's words, according to a former Trump White House staffer who spoke to The Hill, 'plays into his hands.' The insider claimed that the narrative of 'us against them' that Trump has been promoting for years is only strengthened by the intense media attention, Democratic indignation, and Trump's critics.