It looks like the bad bromance of the century: the unsavory friendship between former and possibly future U.S. leader Donald Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

Not long ago, Trump, the arrogant businessman, was a democrats.Not long ago, British leaders Blair Cameron told us Putin could lead his country to the sunny highlands of liberal democracy,

Instead, gaslighting, demagoguery, endless lies and a ruthless instinct for self-preservation characterized the couple’s time in power and out of power.

But the fearsome duo has been joined by another elected politician and so-called Democrat who sows discord in order to save himself. That man is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, who seems willing to defy his allies, the hostage families, and even members of his war cabinet to pursue a policy of extermination in Gaza.

The three men have fought tooth and nail in two conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza that have left the world more dangerous than it has been in decades.

Trump is trying to regain power. Others try to catch it.

Trump’s ties to Putin and Netanyahu are no secret.

Trump’s most notorious show of deference to the Russian dictator occurred in Helsinki in 2018, when, as president, he dismissed warnings from his own intelligence services and accepted Putin’s assertion that Russia did not interfere in the 2016 U.S. election. , certainlyit has.

Concerns have been raised this month about Trump’s willingness to do Putin’s bidding. The Republican presidential candidate said he would encourage Putin to attack NATO members that do not pay enough into the security alliance, which the Russian leader fears and loathes.

For Netanyahu, Israel’s permanent prime minister, Trump’s time in power from 2016 to 2020 was the gift that kept giving. He scrapped the Iran nuclear deal, recognized Israel’s control of the Golan Heights and even moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, bolstering Netanyahu’s support among the ragtag extremist Zionist party he needs for his fifth term as prime minister. appeal — and thwarted attempts by authorities to prosecute Netanyahu on corruption charges.

It was during this period that Netanaihu began his disastrous policies: strengthen hamas at the expense of the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority.

The benefits Trump has given Bibi, including approval of a growing number of illegal settlements in the West Bank, have also put a nail in the coffin of the Palestinian cause, making a two-state solution to the conflict all but impossible.

The relationship between the leaders of Israel and Russia is more complicated. In the early 2000s, relations between Israel and Russia took a step forward with the arrival of the pro-Israel Putin in the Kremlin.

Putin told Netanyahu in 2011 that by welcoming so many Russian Jews, Israel could be considered part of the Russian cultural world.

Israel has benefited from Russia’s growing influence in the Middle East, as it intervened in support of the Assad regime during the Syrian civil war and allowed its aircraft to fly over Syrian airspace.

Israel under Netanyahu, unlike most Western countries, has refused to impose sanctions on Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Even as Putin’s regime called Ukraine’s Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelensky, a Nazi and seemed to completely offend Israeli sensibilities, Netanyahu refused to provide Kyiv with defensive weapons.Moscow Hamas support, have, Since the attack on Israel on October 7, the relationship between Putin and Netanyahu is tense. Russia’s growing ties with Iran will not please Netanyahu.

Vera Ajiyeva, an international relations expert at the Paris Institute of Political Science, believes that Netanyahu and Putin will continue to cooperate “for specific purposes” where appropriate.

Yet Netanyahu appears completely unwilling to base his policy toward the Russian dictator on principles.

What Trump, Netanyahu and Putin have in common is their desperate need to take power to save their own lives.All three have been or are in progress Undermining their country’s judiciary; All three were charged with promoting conspiracy theory and dishing out vitriol – or in Putin’s case, actual poison – to their opponents.

Trump’s desire for re-election stems from his desire to pardon a series of criminal convictions that threaten him. Netanyahu is preparing to lead a hybrid coalition with far-right Jewish supremacists and even convicted criminals as he plans to overhaul the country’s justice system while also insulating himself from corruption charges.

Like a mafia boss, Putin must win in Ukraine and remain in power or be at the mercy of whoever or whatever comes after him.

Would America and the world be a better place without the Trump II regime? With the exception of the Maga right and its new followers (such as our former kamikaze prime minister Liz Truss), most reasonable people would say that a Biden II administration that defends world trade, democracy, and environmental protection More preferable.

An Israel without Netanyahu would at least allow discussion of the Palestinians’ aspirations for statehood – without which lasting peace in the Middle East is impossible.

Would Russia be less dangerous without Putin? We hope so. Although not everyone is convinced. Kyle Giles, a Russia expert at Chatham House, warned that there may still be a sense of “entitlement to dominate neighboring countries” among Russia’s political class.

The difference between Putin, 71, Netanyahu, 74, and Trump, 77, is clear: One is in power, running a murderous mafia kleptocracy in Moscow; . One is championing a chaotic right-wing villain’s reign in Jerusalem; while a third solipsist wants to return to power in Washington to avoid jail and pursue his plans for “revenge“.

as israeli haaretz newspaper points out: “They may be different – ​​but importantly, they are very similar.”