The Daily Beast reports that at least since late in 2021, Donald Trump has been asking associates if they think Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina could potentially oust Mitch McConnell as Senate Minority Leader. This makes a lot of sense because Graham has been a steadfast Trump loyalist while McConnell openly disdains the disgraced ex-president.

But the alliance between Trump and Graham is unnatural, and the crisis in Ukraine really exposes the rift between them. After listening to Vladimir Putin’s demented and lengthy rant on Monday explaining why he’s sending more troops into Ukraine, Graham said “it was exactly what Hitler did in the 1930’s” and demanded “the most crushing sanctions possible on the Russian economy.”

Trump didn’t respond to Putin’s speech until Tuesday but when he did, he had a diametrically different take.

“Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine — Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful. ‘I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. … We could use that on our southern border. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re gonna keep peace all right. No, but think of it. Here’s a guy who’s very savvy.”

Trump went on to rhapsodize about his relationship with Putin — “He liked me. I liked him.” — and to praise him as someone with a lot of “charm and a lot of pride” who “loves his country.”

Graham compares Putin to Hitler and Trump says Putin has made a savvy and wonderful move, and that he likes him and thinks he’s smart and charming. These are not remotely compatible worldviews.

I’m quite certain that Graham is aware of this and that it troubles him, although he seems to have an infinite resolve to stay on Trump’s good side. On the other hand, I don’t think Trump sees the disparity in their views as significant. Graham is loyal and McConnell is not, and that matters to Trump. Putin is friendly to Trump, and the Ukrainians resisted him and get him impeached. He doesn’t like Ukraine, and if Graham has a soft spot for them it doesn’t really concern him. The important thing is what Graham can do for him and his political and legal fortunes.

It doesn’t occur to Trump that Graham might not be an ideal Senate leader in a hypothetical second term in the presidency, precisely because they don’t have compatible views on Russia. As for Graham, he’s just looking to survive another day. He’ll deal with the insanity of a second Trump presidency if and when it happens, but he won’t put himself at risk by doing anything to prevent it.

It would be hard to draw up two more despicable characters. They deserve each other, but the rest of us need to be rid of both of them.