I've seen Putin lie and I've definitely seen him spin. He is a politician and he is skillful about narrative control. He's smarter than our politicians and relies more on truth. He's selective about his exaggerations and uses them strategically.

One thing people here get wrong is that Putin is not "our guy." He's a Russian strong man. He's a Make Russia Great Again kind of guy. As the video suggests, he wants to remake the Russian empire as it was under the Romanovs, and modernize it, so that it will act as a counterpoint to Western European power. He doesn't give a shit if the US or the EU burns to ashes. He is not "our guy."

To the extent that we might align, he might see us, by which I mean Western conservatives and traditionalists, as allies who can help him take down the governments which are targeting his country. The enemy of my enemy is my friend - that kind of logic.

While I respect Putin, I do not trust him to do anything but act in his and his country's own interests.