Some hope for Ukraine with Trump
I did not support Donald Trump last election (nor did I support him any election, as a matter of fact). One of my main reasons for that were his statements regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine which I found troubling, at least.
But I still have some hope for Ukraine in this new Trump era. Why, you may ask?
Because if you remove the dialectic and slogans out of it, (for example his outrageous statements in Helsinki in 2018) at least during his first administration, Trump was actually a pretty solid President when it came to Russia and Ukraine.
First of all, he strengthened NATO. The other NATO countries weren’t paying their fair share, and Trump pressured them to start paying their dues. Not only the US didn’t leave NATO under Trump, but thanks to his efforts over $400 billion extra funding for NATO. A stronger NATO is a weaker Putin, always. You can question the methods, but not the results. Trump also signed off NATO’s biggest expansion since the Cold War, approving Montenegro and North Macedonia’s accession. He also pushed for increased NATO naval patrols in the Black Sea to counter Russia.
Trump increased US military footprint in Poland in 2020 with the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. He deployed more troops also to the Baltic states and Romania. US naval activity in the Black Sea was increased. We all know what a strong message this sends to Putin.
While Obama refused to send lethal aid to Ukraine even after Crimea, Trump in 2017 approved the sale of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, and sent $1.5 billion in military aid.
Trump actually sanctioned Russian oligarchs, companies and banks, and expelled 60 Russian diplomats after the Skripal poisoning. He went after the energy sector, state-owned companies and Putin’s friends. Trump also withdrew from the INF Treaty after accusing Russia of violations.
Trump also fought like hell against Nord Stream 2 (if you don’t remember that’s the Russian pipeline to Germany), and imposed sanctions on companies involved with the construction, delaying the completion. He actually warned Europe against the reliance on Russian energy and they LITERALLY laughed at his face.
Compare this to President Obama, who refused to send lethal aid to Ukraine even after Crimea, with his own Generals and Defense Secretary pushing for it, and instead imposed weak sanctions that failed to deter Russian advances. The reset policy was a failure, and he practiced appeasement, cancelling defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic (and leaving NATO allies vulnerable) to appease Russia.
Or to President Biden, who lifted Trump’s sanctions on Nord Stream 2, as one of his first major FP moves. This was a gift to Putin. His chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan projected weakness. Less than six months later, Russian tanks were in Ukraine. And in the lead-up to the invasion, Biden ignored Ukrainian’s calls for more weapons in order to negotiate with Putin (something that obviously didn’t work). While I recognize his ability of rallying NATO, the truth is he hesitated sending advanced weaponry because he feared escalation, and made them fight with Soviet-era equipment. And he sent Abrams tanks and F-16s due to congressional pressure, and too late. He failed to establish a clear victory strategy.
And one important thing we need to take into account is that everything Trump cares about is been seen as a winner. He isn’t interested in a peace treaty in Ukraine that gives Russia a victory, because it will make him look weak, when he will do anything in order to project strength. He will not let Ukraine be his Afghanistan.
Trump has also shown he is much more pragmatic and politically-savvy than his loyalists. Example of this is supporting for the Republican Senate Leadership John Thune, a competent person who, by the way, is a staunch supporter of Ukraine, before a MAGA name like Rick Scott. Already in his first days in office he took a tough approach on Putin: “I think he is destroying Russia by not making a deal (…) Zelensky wants to make a deal, I don’t know if Putin does. He might not. I don’t know.”
Should we then take for granted Trump will save Ukraine? Absolutely not. We need to still fight for a cause worth fighting for. But we need to understand that while there are Tulsi Gabbard’s in the White House now (the most dangerous nomination in the century), there are also Mike Waltz’s, the National Security Advisor and a Ukraine hardliner. We should know about the outrageous comments Trump did on Ukraine, but we should also know he did hell of a job for them the first time, and we need to steer the ship in that direction now.
We need to know the facts. We need to have hope.
Weird to say, but I hope, at least on this matter, 47 looks like 45.
Thanks for reading!
I did not support Donald Trump last election (nor did I support him any election, as a matter of fact). One of my main reasons for that were his statements regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine which I found troubling, at least.
But I still have some hope for Ukraine in this new Trump era. Why, you may ask?
Because if you remove the dialectic and slogans out of it, (for example his outrageous statements in Helsinki in 2018) at least during his first administration, Trump was actually a pretty solid President when it came to Russia and Ukraine.
First of all, he strengthened NATO. The other NATO countries weren’t paying their fair share, and Trump pressured them to start paying their dues. Not only the US didn’t leave NATO under Trump, but thanks to his efforts over $400 billion extra funding for NATO. A stronger NATO is a weaker Putin, always. You can question the methods, but not the results. Trump also signed off NATO’s biggest expansion since the Cold War, approving Montenegro and North Macedonia’s accession. He also pushed for increased NATO naval patrols in the Black Sea to counter Russia.
Trump increased US military footprint in Poland in 2020 with the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. He deployed more troops also to the Baltic states and Romania. US naval activity in the Black Sea was increased. We all know what a strong message this sends to Putin.
While Obama refused to send lethal aid to Ukraine even after Crimea, Trump in 2017 approved the sale of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, and sent $1.5 billion in military aid.
Trump actually sanctioned Russian oligarchs, companies and banks, and expelled 60 Russian diplomats after the Skripal poisoning. He went after the energy sector, state-owned companies and Putin’s friends. Trump also withdrew from the INF Treaty after accusing Russia of violations.
Trump also fought like hell against Nord Stream 2 (if you don’t remember that’s the Russian pipeline to Germany), and imposed sanctions on companies involved with the construction, delaying the completion. He actually warned Europe against the reliance on Russian energy and they LITERALLY laughed at his face.
Compare this to President Obama, who refused to send lethal aid to Ukraine even after Crimea, with his own Generals and Defense Secretary pushing for it, and instead imposed weak sanctions that failed to deter Russian advances. The reset policy was a failure, and he practiced appeasement, cancelling defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic (and leaving NATO allies vulnerable) to appease Russia.
Or to President Biden, who lifted Trump’s sanctions on Nord Stream 2, as one of his first major FP moves. This was a gift to Putin. His chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan projected weakness. Less than six months later, Russian tanks were in Ukraine. And in the lead-up to the invasion, Biden ignored Ukrainian’s calls for more weapons in order to negotiate with Putin (something that obviously didn’t work). While I recognize his ability of rallying NATO, the truth is he hesitated sending advanced weaponry because he feared escalation, and made them fight with Soviet-era equipment. And he sent Abrams tanks and F-16s due to congressional pressure, and too late. He failed to establish a clear victory strategy.
And one important thing we need to take into account is that everything Trump cares about is been seen as a winner. He isn’t interested in a peace treaty in Ukraine that gives Russia a victory, because it will make him look weak, when he will do anything in order to project strength. He will not let Ukraine be his Afghanistan.
Trump has also shown he is much more pragmatic and politically-savvy than his loyalists. Example of this is supporting for the Republican Senate Leadership John Thune, a competent person who, by the way, is a staunch supporter of Ukraine, before a MAGA name like Rick Scott. Already in his first days in office he took a tough approach on Putin: “I think he is destroying Russia by not making a deal (…) Zelensky wants to make a deal, I don’t know if Putin does. He might not. I don’t know.”
Should we then take for granted Trump will save Ukraine? Absolutely not. We need to still fight for a cause worth fighting for. But we need to understand that while there are Tulsi Gabbard’s in the White House now (the most dangerous nomination in the century), there are also Mike Waltz’s, the National Security Advisor and a Ukraine hardliner. We should know about the outrageous comments Trump did on Ukraine, but we should also know he did hell of a job for them the first time, and we need to steer the ship in that direction now.
We need to know the facts. We need to have hope.
Weird to say, but I hope, at least on this matter, 47 looks like 45.
Thanks for reading!