The Psychological Dynamic That Explains Trump’s Deference to Putin

What happens when a status-driven leader meets unconstrained power.

Author’s Note

I’ll be honest about something. Writing this piece required less searching than most. Not because it’s simpler…but because this is the terrain I’ve lived in for more than three decades.

Status dynamics. Dominance hierarchies. How power alters perception and decision-making. I’ve studied it academically…professionally…and…at times…uncomfortably up close.

When a pattern shows up often enough…you stop chasing sources and start recognizing shapes. This article came together that way…not as speculation, but as recognition.

(Estimated reading time, 5-6 min)

The Psychological Dynamic That Explains Trump’s Deference to Putin

What happens when a status-driven leader meets unconstrained power

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #741: Monday, January 19th, 2026.

Let’s get one thing straight before we go any further.

This is not a conspiracy piece.
It’s not a kompromat fantasy.
It’s not amateur psychoanalysis.

It’s about observable behavior…incentives, and a psychological dynamic that shows up predictably when certain personality structures collide with certain kinds of power.

This dynamic doesn’t require malice…betrayal…or secret deals.

It only requires human behavior under hierarchical pressure.

And once you see it…you can’t unsee it.

Power Is Felt, Not Declared

People waste enormous energy arguing about words.

Who said what.
Who praised whom.
Who insulted whom.

That’s noise.

Real power dynamics reveal themselves somewhere else entirely:

• Who is careful around whom

• Who escalates…and who softens

• Who seeks validation…and who withholds it

• Who retaliates…and who absorbs

• Who gets treated differently than everyone else

Apply that lens and one thing stands out immediately:

Trump talks about Putin differently than almost anyone else.

Not consistently hostile.
Not performatively dominant.
Not contemptuous.

Different.

And in dominance psychology…different is the tell.

This Is Not About Fear. It’s About Status

The wrong question gets asked over and over:

“Is Trump afraid of Putin?”

That’s a cartoon version of how dominance-oriented personalities work.

People like Trump…don’t experience fear the way most people do. They experience status threat and status recognition. It’s still fear…it’s just a different flavor.

The real question is:

Where does Putin sit in Trump’s internal hierarchy?

And…the answer is uncomfortable for anyone who believes American power automatically outranks all others.

Trump’s Core Engine: Externalized Status

Trump’s identity has never been internally regulated.

It’s built on:

• Public admiration

• Visible dominance

• Loyalty signals

• Crowds, ratings, attention

• Wins that can be displayed

• Humiliations that must be avoided

That’s not an insult. It’s a structure.

People with externally regulated status are exquisitely sensitive to:

• Who humiliates them

• Who resists them

• Who ignores them

• Who cannot be bullied

Now ask yourself:

Who, on the world stage…fits that description better than Vladimir Putin?

Putin Represents What Trump Cannot Fully Obtain

Putin embodies something Trump wants—but cannot fully have inside a democratic system:

Unconstrained power.

Putin does not need:

• Approval ratings

• Independent courts

• Hostile media

• Elections that threaten removal

• Public humiliation without consequences

He doesn’t persuade.

He enforces.

To someone like Trump…that reads as real power.

Not moral power.
Not legitimate power.

But effective power.

And people who prioritize effectiveness…over legitimacy…tend to admire whoever gets away with the most.

The Asymmetry That Changes Everything

Here is the asymmetry that explains nearly everything:

Trump needs validation.
Putin does not.

Trump performs constantly.
Putin does not perform…at all.

Trump seeks affirmation.
Putin dispenses tolerance.

Trump knows how to dominate people who need something from him.

He does not know how to dominate people who don’t need him.

In dominance hierarchies…the person who can walk away quietly… wins.

Why Trump Is Harsher on Democratic Leaders

This is where people get confused.

They say: “If Trump admires strength, why does he attack allies?”

Because democratic leaders:

• Criticize him publicly

• Embarrass him openly

• Don’t fear retaliation

• Operate inside norms that allow disrespect

To someone with Trump’s psychology…that isn’t disagreement.

It’s humiliation.

So…he attacks.

Putin doesn’t humiliate him.
Putin doesn’t mock him.
Putin doesn’t correct him publicly.

Putin…treats him like a peer.

And…for a status-driven personality like Trump….that feels like respect.

This Is Deference, Not Friendship

Let’s be precise.

This is not friendship.
It’s not ideological alignment.
It’s not secret loyalty.

It’s psychological deference.

The kind that emerges automatically when someone encounters a figure they perceive as:

• Untouchable

• Immune to humiliation

• Fully in control of their environment

• Unconstrained by rules

When that happens…people soften.

They hesitate.
They rationalize.
They excuse.

Not consciously.

Mechanically.

This isn’t admiration.

It’s accommodation.

The Borrowed Status Effect

There’s another mechanism at work…and it’s subtle.

People with fragile status identities…often attach themselves to stronger figures to borrow power.

If someone powerful appears to respect me…
then I…must be powerful too.

This is why Trump often speaks warmly about authoritarian leaders…while attacking democratic institutions that constrain him.

Authoritarian approval stabilizes his ego.

Democratic accountability…destabilizes it.

Why This Is Dangerous

Not because Trump “likes” Putin.

But because deference shapes decision-making.

When you defer psychologically, you:

• Avoid confrontation

• Reinterpret aggression as strength

• Downplay threat

• Mistake restraint for goodwill

• Delay decisions that require firmness

And in geopolitics…delay is leverage.

This isn’t betrayal.

It’s misjudgment.

And misjudgment…at the highest level…carries national consequences.

Putin Doesn’t Need Admiration…Only Hesitation

Putin doesn’t need Trump’s loyalty.

He only needs Trump to pause.

To soften.
To equivocate.
To “respect strength.”

Because silence…at the wrong moment…can be more valuable than agreement.

That’s how power is extracted…without force.

Why Democracies Are Psychologically Hard for Strongmen

Democracy humiliates dominance-oriented personalities.

It says:

• You can be criticized

• You can be checked

• You can be removed

• You are not absolute

Authoritarian systems…don’t do that.

They flatter dominance.
They reward loyalty.
They eliminate embarrassment.

Which is why someone like Trump…feels psychologically more comfortable around someone like Putin…than around leaders operating inside democratic norms.

The Real Risk Isn’t Blackmail

Everyone wants a smoking gun.

But…you don’t need one.

You only need:

• Extreme status sensitivity

• Admiration for unconstrained power

• Discomfort with accountability

• A lifetime of equating dominance with worth

The danger isn’t treason.

The danger is hesitation.

And hesitation…is how bad decisions get made quietly.

Final Reality Check

This isn’t about whether Trump is “good” or “evil.”

It’s about fit.

The presidency of the United States requires comfort with:

• constraint

• criticism

• shared power

• delayed gratification

• institutional loyalty

Trump’s psychology is built for something else.

And…when someone with that structure encounters a figure who embodies absolute control…without consequence…

The dynamic writes itself.

Not because of fear.
Not because of blackmail.

But because power recognizes power…and sometimes mistakes it for legitimacy.

And when a status-driven leader…mistakes unconstrained power…for legitimacy…the risk isn’t betrayal.

It’s silence at the wrong moment.

#HoldFast

Back soon,

-Jack
Jack Hopkins

P.S. Later this evening, paid subscribers get the companion piece breaking down how authoritarian leaders exploit status psychology in democratic rivals…and the structural guardrails that actually work against it…and how this all plays out with Greenland threats.)