>We in western democracies used to regard with disdain those corrupt, ridiculous leadership figures in so-called banana republics and third-world dictatorships, with their openly corrupt dealings and amoral excesses.

Not that I wholly disagree, but in the interests of robust conversation, I feel compelled to ask:

When?

It's in everyday things.

Like this most recent headline from AppleInsider:

"Cook controversially dines with Saudi Crown Prince at White House"

Now, I'm no Saudi Crown Prince stan, but would the word 'controversially' have been used if Cook dined with Biden - who funded and supported a genocide, in which hundreds of journalists were killed? Why was the word 'controversially' not used to refer to also being at the table with Trump there?

Yes, it's controversial that Cook had dinner with the Saudi Crown Prince. In my view it's even more controversial to be having dinner with Trump.

This is just the most recent headline I can give as an example. But there are many like this.