Their rhetoric is replete with references to nation and country, but the one thing among many that Presidents Trump and Vladimir Putin don’t understand at all is the actual power of nationalism and patriotism. And it’s perfectly clear why.

Both are empire builders who believe they have a sacred duty to expand the borders of their realms — regardless of what anybody might say, do or think.

Putin aspires to revive the Soviet Russian empire, including all 14 non-Russian republics and as many of the East European countries as he can gather in. Trump, meanwhile, hopes to annex Canada, Greenland, the Panama Canal and even the Gaza Strip.

As Putin saw it, Moldova, Georgia, Belarus and Ukraine appeared ripe for the taking. After all, the Belarusians and Ukrainians are really Russians, as Putin and his subalterns have repeatedly claimed, while Moldova and Georgia were too small to resist.

Trump’s logic is similar. The Canadians are really Americans. And Greenland, Denmark, Panama and Gaza are too weak to say no to the American behemoth.

Putin expected his invasion of Ukraine and his hegemony over Belarus to be a cakewalk. Instead, the war against Ukraine has been a disaster for Russia's army, economy and people. Even Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus’s wily leader, has cleverly managed to retain more breathing room than Putin would have wished.

Trump appears to have similar expectations regarding........

© The Hill