Leonid Bershidsky, Columnist

Putin Would Eat President Trump for Lunch

Other flamboyant businessmen have crossed him. It doesn't end well.

July 31, 2015 at 7:40 PM UTC

Leonid Bershidsky, formerly Bloomberg Opinion’s Europe columnist, is a member of the Bloomberg News Automation Team. He recently published Russian translations of George Orwell’s “1984” and Franz Kafka’s “The Trial.”

Or are you just happy to see me?
Alain Jocard/Getty

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

Donald Trump keeps saying that, as president, he would have a good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He's probably deluded: Putin doesn't make deals with brash, showy businessmen. He eats them for lunch.

In June, Trump told Fox News host Bill O'Reilly why he'd likely have a "great relationship" with the Russian leader. "He’s got a tremendous popularity in Russia, they love what he’s doing, they love what he represents," Trump said. "I was over in Moscow two years ago and I will tell you — you can get along with those people and get along with them well. You can make deals with those people. Obama can’t."