Trump is undoubtedly paying attention as Putin effectively assures his dictatorship will continue by disallowing his popular opponent (Alexei Navalny) to run against him. By saying that his opponent is a ‘criminal’ who is ineligible to run for the presidency, he is telling citizens “Don’t bother to vote”. If criminals were not allowed to run, then Putin himself, as well as Trump would be eliminated from the running. This is why Trump got his supporters to chant “Lock her up” and we can be sure that this train of thought will continue in the future. So far, it is not possible for the president of the US to declare a candidate “ineligible”, but if McConnell and his gang get a chance, they would surely attempt to pass such legislation. The republican leaders said that the people had already adjudicated Trump’s crimes by voting him into office in 2016, therefore, no hearings on his sexual assault allegations are needed. But we will see what they say when the next opponent of Trump has as much as a parking ticket.
There is a reason why Trump loves Putin – he will do everything he can to remake the US in Russia’s image.