title: Manipulative Statecraft
abstract: Donald Trump stands out as the only U.S. president to break with historical precedent by openly displaying regard for authoritarian leaders. One of the main recipients of Trump’s admiration has been the president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. Both leaders have followed the strongman’s playbook: they have demonized large segments of society, conducted disinformation campaigns to forward their agendas, and under color of law, used police and the courts to punish the opposition. I argu