Putin the Dictator Archives

Reigning (Raining?) Russians

July 6, 2023 Buck Banks

Was it a coup attempt or a revolution? No one knows.
Now Prigozhin’s back in Russia, testing how the wind blows.
Unless you’re a Rasputin,
There’s no escaping Putin.
Our advice? Hey Yevgeny, keep away from the windows!

Biden: Putin ‘Miscalculated’ With Ukraine Invasion

October 12, 2022 Buck Banks

“I think he is a rational actor who has miscalculated significantly.”

— President Biden told CNN that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin badly misjudged his ability to invade Ukraine and suppress its people.

Zelensky: Putin’s Not Bluffing

September 26, 2022 Buck Banks

“He wants to scare the whole world. These are the first steps of his nuclear blackmail. I don’t think he’s bluffing.”

— Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, quoted by CNBC, on Russian president Vladimir Putin’s threat of using nuclear weapons.

Conscription Conniption

September 26, 2022 Buck Banks

Vladimir Putin’s call-up is an act of desperation,
And Russian dudes are on the move — but not on vacation.
Going to Ukraine to get your ass shot off
Is about as funny as Yakov Smirnoff,
And now babushkas are putting the “mob” back in “mobilization.”

This Is a Decisive Moment in Russo-Ukraine War

April 13, 2022 Buck Banks

“For those of us born after World War II, this is the most consequential war of our lifetime. Upon its outcome rests the future of European stability and prosperity. … If Ukraine succeeds in preserving its freedom and territorial integrity, a diminished Russia will be contained; if it fails, the chances of war between NATO and Russia go up, as does the prospect of Russian intervention in other areas on its western and southern peripheries.”

— Eliot Cohen

Desspite Trump and Carlson, Almost No One Has Confidence in Putin

March 31, 2022 Buck Banks

6%

A new Pew Research poll finds Russian President Vladimir Putin receives dismal ratings, with only 6% of American adults expressing confidence in him following his decision to invade Ukraine – an all-time low in surveys going back nearly two decades. It seems that Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson praising the Russian leader might not be good politics.

Most American Worried About Russian Nukes

March 28, 2022 Buck Banks

9 in 10

A new AP-NORC poll finds “close to half of Americans say they are very concerned that Russia would directly target the U.S. with nuclear weapons, and an additional 3 in 10 are somewhat concerned about that.” “Roughly 9 in 10 Americans are at least somewhat concerned that Putin might use a nuclear weapon against Ukraine, including about 6 in 10 who are very concerned.”

Navalny Gets Nine the Hard Way

March 22, 2022 Buck Banks

9

“Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was convicted of fraud and contempt of court and sentenced to nine years in a maximum security prison on Tuesday, in a trial Kremlin critics see as an attempt to keep President Vladimir Putin’s most ardent foe in prison for as long as possible,” the AP reports.

Why the Morally Bankrupt Right Obsesses Over Putin

March 22, 2022 Buck Banks

“The concept of strength is the axis on which Republican politics has long rotated. Every Republican political campaign is about portraying the GOPer as strong and the Democrat as weak. This is why so much hay was made of Michael Dukakis’s tank photo op. Republicans worked hard to undermine John Kerry’s military service, and pushed false narratives about the health and cognitive abilities of Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. … The type of strength and how it is used is irrelevant. When strength at all costs is emphasized at the expense of empathy, compassion, and morals, Putin can become the ideal leader for a morally bankrupt political party.”

— Dan Pfeiffer

Trump: No, The OTHER N-Word!

March 22, 2022 Buck Banks

“I think he is a rational actor who has miscalculated significantly.”

— President Biden told CNN that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin badly misjudged his ability to invade Ukraine and suppress its people.

“He wants to scare the whole world. These are the first steps of his nuclear blackmail. I don’t think he’s bluffing.”

— Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, quoted by CNBC, on Russian president Vladimir Putin’s threat of using nuclear weapons.

— Eliot Cohen

6%

9 in 10

9

— Dan Pfeiffer

“I listened to Putin constantly using the n-word. That’s the n-word.”

— Former President Donald Trump, on Fox Business, before clarifying he meant the “nuclear word.”

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

— Attorney General Merrick Garland, testifying before the House Judiciary Committee/Inquisition.

“We always get the blame. Name one time that we’ve shut the government down and we haven’t got the blame.”

— Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID), a senior appropriator, told Katherine Tully-McManus and Adam Cancryn of Politico.

“Mmmkay! And I’m 110lbs and a virgin ?! I’m not a scale or a doctor but I have spent some time beneath 215lb men and Tiny was not one of them.”

— Stormy Daniels, referring to Donald Trump’s claim at his arrest last week that he weighs just 215 pounds.

“I did see it on television. Handsome guy.”

— President Biden, commenting on Donald Trump’s mug shot.

“Didn’t hurt himself. Didn’t really help himself either. It says something that no one felt the need to attack him.”

– Sarah Longwell, a Republican strategist and founder of the anti-Trump Republican Accountability Project, discussing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s mediocre performance during the first GOP presidential debate

Numerati

42 million

“Almost 42 million Americans – over one-eighth of the US population – are estimated to have lived within one mile of a mass shooting since 2014,” CNN reports.

$7.1 million

$61.1 million

62%

A new Navigator Research poll finds that — by a whopping 62% to 30% margin — most Americans think Donald Trump has committed a crime. Independent voters are even more sure and think Trump is guilty by 67% to 18%.

29%