The Trump-Putin Parallels Pile Up

Reports that President Donald Trump travels with a claque -- a group of supporters that creates the impression of support for him at functions like a recent meeting with Central Intelligence Agency staff -- have added to a growing list of ways his administration resembles Russian President Vladimir Putin's.

The parallels began in earnest with Trump’s pre-inauguration news conference, when Alexei Kovalev, known for debunking Russian government propaganda, compared the event to Putin's circus-like annual meetings with the press. The piece resonated with Western journalists, who are not used to being denied questions by the president and also expect that he will be nice to them. It also resonated with their Russian colleagues, who have been dealing with carefully staged press appearances and punitive access restrictions since Putin's first term in power.