Whichever way you spin it, the result is the same: homophobia. The “joke” only works if being a member of the queer community is regarded as “inferior” or “less than” – even if that’s supposed to reflect the view of the butt of said joke. If you don’t make that assumption, it’s pretty pointless. Like depicting them as brothers.

Trump and Putin, like so many others, may fear being gay but every time you joke that they are, you reinforce the validity of that fear, not only to them, but to the rest of society. Yes, you say, being gay is something to be ashamed of. If it wasn’t, why would so many use it to make fun of people they hate so much?

Putin is an alleged serial human rights abuser while Trump is an alleged serial sexual abuser who longs to be more like Vlad. It’s not like there is a shortage of vile acts to work with here.