As a thin-skinned narcissist, Trump is emotionally dependent on admiration. He looks at authoritarians like Putin, Xi, and Kim, and he desperately wants what they have. How better to meet the need for admiration than to be a dictator that people must love and praise or else face the consequences?

By appeasing and palling around with these brutal authoritarians, he thinks they’ll help him become one of them.

Can’t lose what you never had.