Oppressive foreign leaders are taking a 'guilty pleasure' in watching Trump's scandals

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

last updated 16 May 2017

Undemocratic leaders around the world are taking a "guilty pleasure" in watching events unfold in the United States, Politico writes. "There's a credibility issue when it comes to the rule of law, particularly with the firing of [former FBI Director James] Comey," explained the Washington director of Human Rights Watch, Sarah Margon.

But that's not all:

The finger-pointing has already begun. One recent Chinese delegation claimed Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner resembled a "princeling" in their own country who mixed business and politics. In another example, when "Capitol Hill aides warned officials from another repressive foreign government that they could pay a political price for human rights abuses, their visitors scoffed," Politico writes. "President Donald Trump had just called their leader, they said, and told him he was doing a great job."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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