Vlad
Vladimir Putin

Flattery will get Putin everywhere… Russian strongman Vladimir Putin congratulated Donald Trump for winning the election, and praised his machoness in the aftermath of the July assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.

“People show who they are in extraordinary circumstances,” said Putin during a Nov. 7 event. “This is where a person reveals himself. And he showed himself, in my opinion, in a very correct manner, courageously. Like a man.”

That’s music to the ears of a guy like Trump, who thrives on flattery.

Savvy Vlad then piled it up. He said Trump, who constantly casts himself as a victim of persecution, was “hounded by all sides” during the election contest. As Joe Biden might say, “Cut the blarney, Putin.”

The Russian stands ready to go mano a mano with The Don to talk about restoring ties between Russian and the US, and hammering out the handover of Ukraine.

You bet he is.

After all, Putin had his way with Trump during their tete-a-tete in Helsinki in 2018.

Scheduled for 90 minutes, that meeting dragged on for two hours. There were no aides or notetakers, only interpreters.

Trump emerged from that session, echoing Putin’s lie that Russia did not meddle in the 2016 presidential election—despite FBI evidence to the contrary.

Putin can’t wait to get into a room with Trump.

Ballard Partners cements Trump ties… The President-elect has named Susie Wiles his chief of staff. She would be the first woman to hold that post.

Her appointment is good news for Ballard Partners, where she worked for ten years, heading the Florida firm’s flagship Tallahassee office. She left Ballard Partners in 2019.

Wiles, 67, ran Trump’s Sunshine State campaign in 2016, and then helmed his Save America PAC. She co-managed Trump’s 2024 presidential run.

“Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,” Trump said in a Nov. 7 statement. He called her “universally admired and respected.”

Brian Ballard is a top fundraiser for Trump. A gusher of clients eager to make inroads with the new administration will soon be knocking on the door of Ballard Partners.

Bootlicker Bezos… Fresh from his decision to kill the Washington Post’s endorsement of Kamala Harris for president, Jeff Bezos issued gag-inducing congratulations to Trump for his “extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory.”

The WaPo owner and Amazon/Blue Origin founder wished Trump “all success in leading and uniting the America we all love,” in a post on Elon Musk’s X. There’s fat chance of the unity, Jeff.

More than 250K readers cancelled their subscriptions to WaPo in the aftermath of Bezos’ decision to withhold the endorsement of Harris.

Bezos claimed newspaper endorsements create perceptions of bias.

Will his shameful groveling before Trump result in more federal dollars for Blue Origin’s space and aerospace operations? Time will tell.

Turning the page… In the eight weeks leading up to Election Day, Trump insulted, attacked or threatened the media at least 108 times, according to an analysis by Reporters Without Borders.

While President, he used the term “fake news” to belittle tough coverage of him more than 2,000 times.

During the past two years, Trump called for the FCC to revoke the Federal Communications Commission license of broadcasters at least 15 times.

Most recently, he railed against CBS after “60 Minutes” edited its interview with Kamala Harris, as if editing is some sort of nefarious process.

“It’s so bad they should lose their license, and they should take ’60 Minutes’ off the air,” Trump told podcaster Dan Bongino.

Clayton Weimers, executive director of RWB USA, said Trump’s second term in office offers an opportunity to revamp his relationship with the press.

“Attacking the press is really an attack on American citizens’ right to know,” he said in a statement. “Trump’s new administration can and must change his tune with the media and take concrete steps to protect journalists and develop a climate conducive to a robust and pluralistic news media.”

Good luck with that, Clayton. In case Trump doesn’t change his tune, RWB promises “to remain a tireless advocate for press freedom and the safety of journalists.”

RWB will be very busy during the next four years. The US ranks No. 55 among the 180 counties in RWB’s “2024 World Press Freedom Index.” One hopes that the US will remain in the Top 100 after the end of the Trump restoration.

DEI on the skids in NYC… New York City voters rejected a ballot proposition to establish a chief business diversity officer position, as well as promoting opportunities for minority and women-owned business in the movie and TV industries.

It was the only one of the five measures to go down in flames, losing by a 52.6 percent to 47.4 percent margin.

Revising that old tune: If DEI can’t make it in still-blue New York, it won’t make it anywhere else.