Peter Hartcher counts twelve ways Trump resembles Putin

The Herald and The Age's international editor tells The Morning Edition the question is no longer whether Trump is coddling Putin, but whether he is becoming him.

Channel:

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age Story of October 23, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 82,977 views a day, 33 times a normal first day on this channel (2,546).

Donald Trump is becoming Vladimir Putin: Hartcher

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

1:05Selinger-Morris asks whether Trump's recent policy and rhetoric amount to a de facto alliance with Putin. Hartcher says they do.
2:24Hartcher links disruptions to Ukraine's Starlink service with communication between Trump and Elon Musk.
4:18A clip of Trump saying Russia has been "fine on Ukraine" is set against Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians.
9:08Hartcher cites Zelenskyy telling the Financial Times that Trump likes autocrats and billionaires.
11:29The core of the episode: twelve traits Hartcher says Trump and Putin share, from defying democratic norms to oligarch circles.
17:34Possible next steps, including a proposed Trump-Putin-Xi summit on Ukraine, and Hartcher's "Donald Putin" summary.

"Just think of it as Donald Putin," Peter Hartcher says near the end of the latest Morning Edition, "and that'll tell you what to expect and where things are going."

The line sums up the episode's argument. Hartcher, the political and international editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, tells host Samantha Selinger-Morris that Donald Trump is "now blatantly acting to align US policy with Putin's interests." Asked whether that amounts to a de facto alliance with Moscow, he answers: "I would suggest it is."

He starts with Ukraine. Reports of disruptions to Ukraine's Starlink connections and drone alerts lead him to the communication between Trump and Elon Musk. Archival clips follow, including Trump saying Russia "has been fine on Ukraine" and that Zelenskyy should have settled the war long ago. Hartcher sets those remarks against Russia's attacks on Ukrainian civilians. He also cites Zelenskyy's interview with the Financial Times, in which the Ukrainian president describes Trump's liking for autocrats and billionaires.

The episode then widens its scope. About eleven minutes in, Hartcher lists twelve traits he says the two leaders share: an authoritarian style of government, contempt for democratic norms, a willingness to send armed forces onto home streets and a circle of wealthy insiders. His case is that the resemblance now extends to how Trump uses power at home, not only to what he gives Putin abroad. The final section looks ahead to a proposed three-way summit on Ukraine between Trump, Putin and Xi Jinping.

The episode has passed 97,000 views in a little more than a day, far beyond a usual first day for the channel's longer videos. Two weeks ago, Hartcher was on the same show discussing people who look to an AI deity for answers, as we reported here.

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