--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many Americans have been looking for an…" description: "\"Many Americans have been looking for an explanation for Mr. Trump's apparent adoration of Mr. Putin. How can a powerful, wealthy American man hold affe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/104/masha-gessen-2322_american_many-americans-have-been-looking-for-an_423231.jpg" --- # Many Americans have been looking for an explanation for… ![“Many Americans have been looking for an explanation for Mr. Trump's apparent adoration of Mr. Putin. How can a powerful, wealthy American man hold affection for the tyrannical, corrupt leader of a hostile power?” quote by Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/104/masha-gessen-2322_american_many-americans-have-been-looking-for-an_423231.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/104/masha-gessen-2322_american_many-americans-have-been-looking-for-an_423231.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/104/masha-gessen-2322_american_many-americans-have-been-looking-for-an_423231.jpg) > “Many Americans have been looking for an explanation for Mr. Trump's apparent adoration of Mr. Putin. How can a powerful, wealthy American man hold affection for the tyrannical, corrupt leader of a hostile power?” [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A wealthy American can admire a hostile leader due to personal ambition, strategic interests, or ideological alignment, despite contradictions. **In simple terms:** Powerful people may support rivals for personal or political reasons. Key Takeaway Scrutinize motives behind unexpected alliances. Themes politics power ideology contradiction Mood critical analytical Type political commentary When to use this quote - election analysis - foreign policy debates - media commentary Key Concepts realpolitik psychology of leadership Questions to Reflect On - Why do leaders sometimes support adversaries? - What impact does this have on public perception? A Different Perspective Such admiration may undermine democratic values and public trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [Corrupt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corrupt/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Mr Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mr-putin-542991/) [Mr Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mr-trump/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/putin/) [Russia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russia/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Trump Apparent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump-apparent-2535330/) ## Related quotes > [Of course, Putin may well have reasons for wanting Trump to be president - not least Trump's apparent skepticism toward NATO and his lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/of-course-putin-may-well-have-reasons-for-wanting-trump-to-be/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Mr. Putin presents himself as a czar - and like any czar, he fears revolution above all else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sebag-montefiore/mr-putin-presents-himself-as-a-czar-and-like-any-czar-he-fears/) [Simon Sebag Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sebag-montefiore/) > [President Obama has thrown allies like Israel under the bus, even as he has relaxed sanctions on Castro's Cuba. He abandoned our friends in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/president-obama-has-thrown-allies-like-israel-under-the-bus-even-as/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Mr. Obama said that he personally told Mr. Putin to knock it off and vows to retaliate. But the Obama presidency is coming to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickerson/mr-obama-said-that-he-personally-told-mr-putin-to-knock-it-off-and/) [John Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickerson/) > [Just recently, President Donald Trump said that he believes that Mr. Vladimir Putin, when he said he didn't know about interfering in our elections…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-cardin/just-recently-president-donald-trump-said-that-he-believes-that-mr/) [Ben Cardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-cardin/) > [I looked into Mr. Putin's eyes, and I saw three letters, a "K," a "G," and a "B."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/i-looked-into-mr-putin-s-eyes-and-i-saw-three-letters-a-k-a-g-and-a-b/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [I'm not going to wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to Russia, or Mr. Putin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-m-not-going-to-wear-rose-colored-glasses-when-it-comes-to-russia-or/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [“Given how carefully choreographed Mr Putin’s public appearances are, the question itself touched a nerve in Kazakhstan. The country’s single greatest uncertainty is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/given-how-carefully-choreographed-mr-putin-s-public-appearances-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Mr. Putin's primary goal in the 2016 elections was to delegitimize our institutions and pit Americans against each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/mr-putin-s-primary-goal-in-the-2016-elections-was-to-delegitimize-our/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [Mr. Putin's goal is to push Russia's borders farther west, to control Ukraine's substantial agricultural exports and natural resources, and to destabilize Europe's and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-suozzi/mr-putin-s-goal-is-to-push-russia-s-borders-farther-west-to-control/) [Tom Suozzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-suozzi/) > [The United States must look beyond Mr. Putin. His regime may appear imposing, but it is rotting inside. His Russia is not a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/the-united-states-must-look-beyond-mr-putin-his-regime-may-appear/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [“I can distinctly hear the beatings of the wings of the angel of death,” it went, in improbably elegant English, which Litvinenko had barely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-lee-myers/i-can-distinctly-hear-the-beatings-of-the-wings-of-the-angel-of-death/) [Steven Lee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-lee-myers/) > [We have Mr. Putin in Russia. And he appears to be a popular president of Russia. And I don't think it's the business of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/we-have-mr-putin-in-russia-and-he-appears-to-be-a-popular-president/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [Mr. Putin has to understand that if he does something against us Belarusians, it will seriously damage the relationship between the Russian and Belarusian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sviatlana-tsikhanouskaya/mr-putin-has-to-understand-that-if-he-does-something-against-us/) [Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sviatlana-tsikhanouskaya/) > [For Mr. Putin, vacillation invites aggression. His world is a brutish, cynical place, where power is worshiped, weakness is despised, and all rivalries are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/for-mr-putin-vacillation-invites-aggression-his-world-is-a-brutish/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) ## More by Masha Gessen > [There's this American pretense, which is the pretense of the journalist with the view from nowhere - which has somehow morphed into the journalist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/there-s-this-american-pretense-which-is-the-pretense-of-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Where incompetence is prized, it is ever-present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/where-incompetence-is-prized-it-is-ever-present/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Pussy Riot have certainly changed some people's assumptions about the role of political art and the relationship between the intelligentsia and the church. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/pussy-riot-have-certainly-changed-some-people-s-assumptions-about-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Trump, like Putin, has a demonstrably thin skin and short temper when it comes to being criticized by journalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/trump-like-putin-has-a-demonstrably-thin-skin-and-short-temper-when/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [You risk everything if you so much as join a legal protest demonstration in Russia. It raises the stakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/you-risk-everything-if-you-so-much-as-join-a-legal-protest/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Donald Trump creates word salads. And that is awful to language, because we try to parse out what he's saying and try to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/donald-trump-creates-word-salads-and-that-is-awful-to-language/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [It is the first time since 1993 that Russians have come out into the streets without an explicit permission from the government to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/it-is-the-first-time-since-1993-that-russians-have-come-out-into-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I think Donald Trump was brought to power by Americans. They voted for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-think-donald-trump-was-brought-to-power-by-americans-they-voted-for/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [In the 1990s, there was a lot of reform, and there was a lot of forward movement on a lot of fronts in Russia.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/in-the-1990s-there-was-a-lot-of-reform-and-there-was-a-lot-of-forward/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Poverty and scarcity are actually very good for totalitarian societies. They maintain that sense of mobilization that's essential for totalitarian societies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/poverty-and-scarcity-are-actually-very-good-for-totalitarian/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I think that Putin's strategy has been throwing a lot of money, fairly haphazardly, at a lot of projects aimed at disrupting Western relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-think-that-putin-s-strategy-has-been-throwing-a-lot-of-money-fairly/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Both Trump and Putin use language primarily to communicate not facts or opinions but power: it's not what the words mean that matters but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/both-trump-and-putin-use-language-primarily-to-communicate-not-facts/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I worked both as a Russian journalist and an American journalist and ran a bunch of magazines in Moscow over the course of about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-worked-both-as-a-russian-journalist-and-an-american-journalist-and/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I have no doubt that there are Russian efforts to disturb the fabric of American democracy, but they're disruption efforts. They're troublemaking efforts. They're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-have-no-doubt-that-there-are-russian-efforts-to-disturb-the-fabric/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [For years I was the only publicly out gay person who was not a full-time gay activist: my position as a quasi-foreigner gave me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/for-years-i-was-the-only-publicly-out-gay-person-who-was-not-a-full/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) [Explore all 171 Masha Gessen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. 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We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) [Browse all 7,717 American quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Many Americans have been looking for an explanation for Mr. Trump's apparent adoration of Mr. Putin. 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