THE TRUMP BRAND:

One of the most prominent and most troubled of Putin's Western boosters is the white supremacist Nick Fuentes, who doesn't hold back on his admiration for Putin's war in Ukraine, and considers him to be a beacon of hope for the white race. Earlier this year, before he was fanning the flames of Kanye "I like Hitler" West's anti-Semitic meltdown, Fuentes made comments about sex with women that eerily echo the ideology of the Kremlin.

Fuentes also refers to himself as an incel, although he also states that he deliberately stays away from women, because he is heterosexual. One might think this makes him voluntarily celibate, but Fuentes explains: "The only really straight heterosexual position is to actually 'incel'. . . What's gayer than being 'I like cuddles, I need kisses?'"

It's not that Fuentes is opposed to sex with women per se. He is opposed to asking for affection. Incels frequently complain that, as women have been given more choice over their personal lives, men must now woo them rather than dragging them off to a cave.

Viewing all sexual contact as inherently transactional, incels decry the fact that they don't have the upper hand in the transaction. Genuine affection doesn't figure into their calculus, so it makes sense that people like Fuentes refer to sex with women as "gay." In their language, "gay" = "weak." And the officially homophobic Russian regime would readily agree.

Fuentes is not the only prominent weirdo in Putin's thrall. Fox News host Tucker Carlson is a much more famous and powerful Western Putinist. Blinded by Carlson's excellent ratings--his ability to both inspire and direct rage makes him infinitely watchable for both his admirers and detractors--we often forget that he has some strange ideas about masculinity.

It's not that Carlson is wrong about the existence of a crisis of masculinity in the United States. His instincts are correct--young men are having way less sex, for example. It's a notable societal shift, and simply laughing it off is foolish. It's just that Carlson's approach, which includes pushing "testosterone-boosting" gimmicks such as testicle tanning and not-so-subtly inviting conservative men to take their rage out on immigrants, is crazy. That's all in addition to his history of misogyny: Carlson once claimed that making uniforms more appropriate for female service members was "a mockery of the U.S. military."

Modern-day Russian fascism is similarly misogynist. Putin is known for his misogynist remarks. His government all but encourages domestic violence. His soldiers use mass rape as a weapon of war. His sneering pet propagandist, Margarita Simonyan, the head of RT, took to social media to make coy little comments about how Russians will enjoy Kyiv again soon, and will chase after "dark-browed Oksanas," a turn of phrase specifically aimed at advertising the sexual availability of Ukrainian women as seen by imperialist would-be conquerors from Russia.

This is not just a twisted vision of women; it's a twisted vision of humanity that has no room for happiness or affection. Affection can make you vulnerable, and vulnerability is anathema to Putinism, which first rose out of an aggrieved, anti-Western revanchism and a feeling of failure that over time turned into seething resentment.

Resentment is the key link between Putin, the serial philanderer, and the likes of Fuentes and Carlson. 

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