Sure. But he was also a war vet and extraordinarily successful head of state who rallied his nation and adjacent nations to a jingoistic fervor that very nearly accomplished its nefarious aims. Please understand that none of this is said in praise of him (it makes me sick just having to type that), but his competence as a monster makes trump seem like an illiterate, petty pick-pocket and rube with nothing resembling a strategy or coherent narrative (because he is one).
Now, even bone-headed aspirational dictators can ascend to power and wreak havoc a la Duterte. I keep hearing our fearless* congressional reps saying that he is leading us into a “constitutional crisis” while doing absolutely nothing about it. Guess what? This is a constitutional crisis!
*fearless as in not fearless at all
