I'm not surprised that President Donald Trump has sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war the Russian dictator started with Ukraine. He has always spoken highly of dictators, whether it be Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine he called a “savvy move,” or Prime Minister Viktor Orban the dictator of Hungary, who he mentioned several times in his debate with former Vice President Kamala Harris.

He has even spoken kindly of Kim Jong Un, the dictator of North Korea.

It has been obvious that he not only admires their dictatorial style of rule, but that he is trying to emulate them with the way he is redesigning Washington. I also will not be surprised when he and his administration intensify their lies about President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

I expect the Russian “propaganda outlets,” of Fox, Truth Social and Elon Musk’s X to be screaming lies about Ukraine along with Trump, Vance and the Republicans he has under his thumb. It is a sad day when the president of a country founded as a democracy sides with a dictator who is responsible for the loss of thousands of lives and billions of dollars in damages to a country that did nothing to provoke this war.

Raymond Abate, Valencia