Neville "the Trump" Chamberlain

I am not the first person to think Donald Trump's approach to Putin bears a remarkable resemblence to Neville Chamberlain's approach to Hitler. (Just ask any AI bot.) There is, of course, their antisemitism, and their naivitee. (It is embarrassing to read Chamberlain's correspondence home about his meetings with Hitler. Chamberlain was enchanted.) Yes, Chamberlain wanted to contain Hitler. But he also wanted to contain "the Left," which he invariably conflated with Jewish influence. (Of course, he also faulted Jews for pulling the strings of international finance. On that, I recommend Moishe Postone's "Anti-semitism and National Socialism.")

Perhaps Chamberlain, like Trump, was a dupe. Hitler, like Putin, had his number.

But Chamberlain was himself no fascist. Trump is. He is viscerally opposed to electoral, democratic, politics. He hates black and brown people, even those who support him. He is fundamentally opposed to the rule of law. He is, ironically, an enemy of republican principles. In these respects, Trump is no Chamberlain. But nor is he a Hitler. Yes, Trump displays the same violent outbreaks against anyone who crosses him. But Trump is more like one of Hitler's bumbling stooges, who, in the absence of a real fascist leader, stumbled into the role.

Sending him into the same room as Putin, former leader of the KGB, reminds me of the few meetings between Mussolini and Hitler. Hitler played him like a fiddle. Thank God there were adults in the room today.

When and if Trump, Putin, and Zelensky meet, there will be two adults in the room, Putin and Zelensky. One of these adults is a bona fide theocratic dictator who fashions himself the incarnation of Alexander the Great. The other is a brilliant comic actor who loves his people and loves his country. Then there is the victim of narcisistic personality disorder, the fascist with teeny hands, Donald Trump. He wishes he were Putin. He is not. He is a fascist Chamberlain.