Boma Achenimie 
Former National Security Advisor to the United States (US), Fiona Hill has alleged that President Donald Trump seeks to emulate the Russian President, Vladimir Putin’s autocratic leadership style.
This was as he suggested that the 47th President aims to govern with fewer checks and balances.
Speaking on Sky News’ The World with Yalda Hakim, Hill claimed that Trump, the 47th president of the US, envisions a “hyper-personalised presidency” similar to that of Putin’s top-down approach to governance.
“This is the first time we’ve had a U.S. president who wants to emulate the Russian leader in some way,” Hill said.
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“He wants to basically govern his own country in a very similar fashion—very top down without any checks and balances.”
Hill, who served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European and Russian Affairs on Trump’s National Security Council from 2017 to 2019, further claimed that both Trump and Putin view global politics through a similar lens.
“They see the world as divided up among three major powers, the U.S., Russia, and China with very clear spheres of influence,” she explained.
Hill, now serving as a defence advisor to the UK government following her appointment after the 2024 general election, also asserted that Trump has long sought to reset relations with Moscow.
“He’s always wanted to sit down with Vladimir Putin and sort out all of the difficulties in the bilateral relationship—from nuclear arms reduction to economic and business deals that he and his inner circle are very interested in,” she said.
According to Hill, such ambitions mark a departure from traditional U.S. foreign policy and could indicate a closer alignment between Washington and Moscow.
“There’s probably more chance under Trump of a close relationship between the U.S. and Putin,” she concluded.
Hill’s comments come amid renewed scrutiny of Trump’s foreign policy posture and its potential implications for global alliances and democratic norms.
