On Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “New Day,” CNN National Security Analyst former Director of the NSA and the CIA Gen. Michael Hayden (Ret.) argued, “there is a bit of autocrat envy, in terms of the president’s attitudes towards the President of the Russian Federation.”

Hayden said that there isn’t any logic to explain Trump not talking about Putin like he does about other world leaders. He continued, “I don’t know what created the dynamic, but we saw it during the campaign, right? And now, it may be just at a point, Chris, where it’s a thing for him now, that, in order for him to say something about Putin now would be implicit admission that he should have been saying other things. And he just won’t do it.”

Hayden also gave “a modestly darker” explanation, “He actually admires the way Putin does business. He — you know, in his heart of hearts, he may look at what happened yesterday in the Russian Federation and have a certain sense, why can’t I give speeches like that? Why can’t I do those kinds of things? I think there is a bit of autocrat envy, in terms of the president’s attitudes towards the President of the Russian Federation.”

Hayden added, “The way he is able to govern, the things Putin is able to say, the way things seem responsive to Putin without the institutions of government pushing back on him, yeah, I think he’d like that.”

(h/t RCP Video)

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