The prime minister of the United Kingdom in the years preceding World War II, Neville Chamberlain, will always be known as the idiot who put his faith in Adolf Hitler.
In 1938, however, Chamberlain did not clap his hands like a giddy fanboy when Hitler arrived in Munich for negotiations. Give him that much.
Last week, when his longtime pal Vladimir Putin came to Alaska for talks, President Donald Trump lacked such restraint. In the land of the brave, he treated Putin like an honored guest by having his workers spread the red carpet.
It must have been Ronald Reagan who flipped in his grave once more. A former KGB spy who could be jailed for war crimes if he entered most European nations was being bowed and scraped by an American president.
Rather, Trump backed down, wasting American influence. He warned of dire repercussions if Russia persisted in rejecting a ceasefire just days prior to this meeting. Putin chose to disregard him with no repercussions.
To further demonstrate his defiance, Putin authorized a fierce strike upon his return home, only days after he had walked the red carpet. He blasted Ukraine with 10 ballistic missiles and 270 drones, possibly in an attempt to surpass his July monthly record for civilian casualties.
CAREFULLY READ: FAIL EGO AHEAD
The concept of “peace through strength” served as the foundation for Reagan’s foreign policy. Trump’s fixation with winning the next news cycle serves as his compass.
He boasts that the negotiations over the past week were a huge success, leaving Ukraine in the same position as before. European leaders also joined the farce on Monday at the White House, being cautious not to start another presidential outburst. They knew that if they spoiled the show, Trump might again halt the supply of weapons to Ukraine and cut off satellite intelligence for the front-line troops, as he did in March after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky refused to bow down during his previous meeting in the Oval Office.
This time, the Europeans pretended to be happy and did their best to ignore our child-president’s fragile ego.
“Thanks to you, something has changed,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated.
“I sincerely appreciate your leadership,” remarked Mark Rutte, the head of NATO.
Wearing a sort of suit, Zelensky even joined the celebration, calling Monday’s White House meetings a “truly significant step towards ending the war.”
ATLANTIC CITY TO D.C. RINGING HOLLOW.
The best explanation they could offer was that Trump finally acknowledged that the US was prepared to assist in ensuring peace following the signing of an agreement.
That has only two issues.
First of all, Ukraine will never accept Putin’s peace demands since they amount to a demand for capitulation. Putin demands that Ukraine reduce its military and permanently ban NATO forces after annexing 20% of its territory. He also demands that Ukraine give up more land in Donbas, which is home to over 200,000 Ukrainian civilians and defensive fortifications that Ukraine has been bolstering for the past ten years.
That would make Ukraine a satellite of Mother Russia and pave the way directly to Kyiv. Why doesn’t Trump condemn that?
The second is because of Trump. Given his lengthy history of faltering and lying, what idiot would believe his assurances?
Long before he was elected president, he possessed this quality. Ask the Atlantic City contractors who worked on his casinos but were never paid. One of his three wives will tell you. Ask Trump University’s grads, who were awarded a $25 million settlement for their fraud against him.
Despite his vow as president not to cut Medicaid, he implemented the most drastic cuts in the program’s history. He is increasing the national debt to all-time highs despite his pledge to reduce it. Despite the clear pledge in Article 5 of the NATO alliance, he has made repeated suggestions that the United States might not defend allies against a Russian invasion.
PUTIN DO NOT HAVE TO CONCERN
Why would Zelensky lower his defenses for a Trump guarantee? Can Europe rely on Trump to keep his promise to use air power to defend its ground forces in Ukraine?
Despite Trump’s rhetoric, Putin currently has excellent cause to rest easy. The Ukrainians are making Russia pay a heavy price for every square inch of territory they have taken, and their courage and resourcefulness will be remembered for a long time. They stand a chance of exhausting Putin’s war machine. However, Russia is favored by the math.
Additionally, Putin is no longer too concerned about America. His empathetic ally in the White House is letting Putin sour relations with NATO, is oblivious to the conflict’s moral implications, and does not support his own warnings.
Trump isn’t the adept negotiator, it seems out. It’s Putin.
Moran was the editorial page editor and columnist for The Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey, before joining Advance Local as a national political columnist. His email address is [email protected].
