President Trump says he and Japanese Prime Minster Abe had “good chemistry.”  Apparently, he shook Abe’s hand for 19 seconds to get some of it to rub off.

Who is Vladimir Putin and why does President Trump admire him?

Here are some basic facts:

·        He was a career KGB (Secret Police) officer.

·        While in East Germany with the KGB, East German intelligence reported him as a philanderer and a wife beater.

·        He has placed all media under direct control of the Kremlin, eliminating the free press in Russia.

·        He’s been photographed topless multiple times.

·        He yearns for the return of the USSR.

·        He signed a law decriminalizing domestic violence in Russia.

·        He invaded the Crimea, violating international treaties, the first such change of borders since World War II.

·        While invading the Ukraine, his forces shot down Malaysian Airlines Flight 17.

·        He was named 2014 Person of the Year by the Organized Crime and Corruption Project, an award giving annually to the person who does the most to enable and promote organized criminal activity.

·        He interfered in the American election.

·        He is reported to have $40 billion in assets.

·        His intention is to discredit democracy.

·        He instituted a bombing campaign in Syria which doesn’t target the Islamic State but is attacking the free Syrian forces fighting against Bashar al-Assad, who has been indicted for war crimes.

·        During his regime, 11 of his prominent Russian political opponents have been murdered “under mysterious circumstances;” one was recently poisoned for the second time in two years and in a medically induced coma.

·        And, yes, he stole New England Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft’s Super Bowl 39 ring and won’t give it back. i

So, why does President Trump regard him so highly?  We can only extrapolate from the President’s own words.  He praised Putin for his “very strong control over a country.”