How the GOP Reacts to Strongmen

Will Saletan: “Most Republicans in Congress have a clear understanding of Vladimir Putin: He’s a predator, and the only way to stop him is to stand up to him. They understand other tyrants the same way: China’s Xi Jinping, Iran’s Ali Khamenei, and Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.”

“But when the predator is in their own country—when he’s the leader of their own party—their philosophy of deterrence melts into appeasement. The hawks become doves.”