Brutish, undiplomatic President Trump’s something of a pariah among international leaders. Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras once referred to the former reality show host’s agenda as “evil,” while an unnamed European chief reportedly Trump to Mussolini — that’s what Joe Biden heard. But Trumpy does have at least one fan on the world stage: Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president yesterday decried all the anti-Trump rhetoric in the States, claiming opponents’ disapproval is “disrespect.” From the horse’s mouth: “Inside the country, disrespect is shown for him. This is a regrettable negative component of the US political system… One can argue but one can’t show disrespect, even not for him personally but for those people who voted for him.”

He went on,”Mr. Trump was elected by the American people. And at least for this reason, it is necessary to show respect for him, even if you do not agree with some of his positions.” Spoken like a true dictator.

A wily tactician, Putin’s probably buttering up Trump ahead of some policy request, because Putin, like the rest of us, know that the key to Trump’s heart is through his ego.