By now we all have heard the unctuous hyperbole ad infinitum and ad nauseam that is Donald Trump. Remember his promise to end the Russo-Ukraine War in twenty-four hours if reelected to the presidency? Since then he has continually praised Putin and blamed Zelenskyy, cut back on U.S. support to Ukraine, and publicly questioned the significance of the war for American interests suggesting that it is the responsibility of our European allies and saying that it “Biden’s War,” for which his government has no responsibility. Against all this he paints Putin as his friend, someone he knows and trusts whom he believes really does want peace and a way out of the war. Above all, Trump sympathizes with Russia’s concern about NATO, its border security and the fact that many Ukrainians are Russian, speak Russian and want to be a part of Russia. All of this is balderdash.
The fact is that Trump has run out of options and has painted himself into the corner. Putin, his old friend, is having none of it; he refuses to enter into serious negotiations or agree to an extended cease fire aimed at ending the war. Putin doesn’t want peace, he is not Trump’s friend and never has been. And Trump, no matter his dissembling, knows it.
Putin’s intransigence is poisoning Trump’s real motivations about the war. He really wants to get credit for ending the war so he can bask in the limelight and be a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize. More immediately he wants to settle the war so that he can move on with his grandiose plans to do business with Russia to enrich himself and cronies. A Trump Tower in Moscow and a cash register ringing in the riches. Additionally, he would revel in humiliating Zelenskyy and ignoring guidance from NATO and our European allies. After all, he is Donald J. Trump, a protégée of Roy Cohn, the notorious lawyer during the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954.
Bulls**t will no longer carry the day. Putin has strung Trump along for too long and Trump has strung everyone else along for too long. The Russians have intensified their attacks and are planning a summer campaign against Ukraine. Our allies are beginning to act alone, making common policy and arming the Ukrainians for the long haul. Even Republicans in Congress are becoming restive, publicly acknowledging that Putin is playing Trump and demanding more support for Ukraine.
Trump is looking at a “lose-lose” bargain, one that will dash his greedy aspirations and show him for what he is, a charlatan out for himself.