We already knew that NASCAR had a Donald Trump problem, but now it looks as if Formula One does as well—or, at least, head honcho Bernie Ecclestone, whose views are questionable no matter the subject. Recently, Ecclestone shared with us all that he believes Trump would make a “fantastic” U.S. president.
In the latest episode of “Bernie shares his unsolicited opinions,” The Guardian reports that Ecclestone also said Vladimir Putin should be in charge of Europe and that no benefits have come to the UK from immigration. This comes as he also denounced the ability of women to succeed in F1, and NHRA champion Shirley Muldowney mapped out all of the ways in which he was wrong.
When asked about the U.S. primaries—for whatever reason—at Advertising Week Europe in London, Ecclestone sung a few of Trump’s praises and said he would work well with Putin as president. Whether he means Putin in his current role or Putin in his dreamland of European politics with reign over everyone, Ecclestone did not specify. From The Guardian:
“I think he’d be fantastic [as president],” Ecclestone said. “I’m sure he’s much more flexible than most of them. If he’s made a mistake, he’s more likely to say: ‘It was a good idea at the time.’”
Ecclestone also caused a bit of an awkward silence at the Advertising Week event, according to The Guardian. Saying Europe “should get rid of Brussels and [Putin] should just be in charge,” Ecclestone added that he “gets the job done.” We’ll let The Guardian explain where the silence came in:
The claim that Putin “gets the job done” echoed comments that Ecclestone had previously made about Adolf Hitler. Defending himself in front of 300 advertising executives, who watched in silence, he said that did not mean he admired the late Nazi leader.
As are most lengthy commentaries from Ecclestone, it was an odd sequence of events. That sounds a lot like the current U.S presidential election, though, so perhaps it’s fitting.