President Trump Trusts Putin, Betrays Ukraine
[guest post by Dana]
There is absolutely no defending this:
The U.S. voted against a resolution condemning Russia as the aggressor in the war in Ukraine that passed the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, marking three years since Russia’s launched its full-scale invasion of the country.
Among the 17 countries that joined the U.S. in opposition to the nonbinding measure were Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Israel and Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is a close ally to President Trump. China abstained, along with 64 other countries.
Additionally:
The U.S. delegation also abstained from voting on its own competing resolution that simply called for an end to the war, after European-sponsored amendments inserting new anti-Russian language in the resolution also passed the 193-member body by a wide margin. The amended U.S. resolution also passed.
And then there’s this:
Trump, asked about the vote in the Oval Office on Monday, said he would rather not explain the rationale behind it, but called it “self-evident.”
To refuse to say out loud that the blame for this war rests with Putin, and no one else, is a disgrace. I don’t know if Trump just doesn’t care, or is too dumb to understand “war,” or more likely, his adoration of Putin and an underlying drive to be a strong man like his corrupt pals, simply takes precedence. . . But to side with the likes of North Korea, Eritrea, Syria, Sudan Russia and Russia’s close ally Belarus, who also refused to vote against Putin, is deeply shameful and problematic. Every day, America looks less and less like the America that we’ve known our whole lives. And we’re only one month into Trump’s tenure. So as we betray Ukraine and demonstrate to the world that America can no longer be trusted or counted on, let’s see what President Zelensky has to say:
Zelensky to EU leaders in Kyiv:
The war is against Ukraine, so Ukraine must be at the negotiating table
Peace can’t be declared or announced. [it must be built]
**No one trusts Russia. This trust should be built in baby steps. The first step is to exchange all prisoners 1/
Europe should be at the table too, because it is Russian strategic assets.
So, together with the U.S., we must sit opposite of Russia 2/
Ukraine deserves not only EU membership, but also the security guarantees provided by NATO
If that’s impossible, Ukraine will built NATO in Ukraine 3/
I gave Gen. Kellogg and President Trump a document with a list of all ceasefires that Russia has broken4X
**No one except for the sitting President of the United States. And that is the saddest thing of all.
—Dana
Who are we anymore??
Dana (18c779) — 2/24/2025 @ 3:18 pmWe are the Baddies, Dana, that’s who we are.
Whatever in Trump that was below the surface is now fully out in the open.
When Zelenskyy said, “So, together with the U.S., we must sit opposite of Russia,” Trumping is convincing me that he’ll sit next to the Russian terrorist, not opposite him.
Paul Montagu (84c026) — 2/24/2025 @ 3:51 pmEven worse than his vote and his betrayal of partly free democracy under attack by a Russin thug, Trump is singlehandedly wrecking relationships with decades-long democratic allies and friends and trading partners in just five short weeks. It’s beyond frustrating that this asswipe of a president is doing this.
Paul Montagu (84c026) — 2/24/2025 @ 4:06 pmIt’s not Trump‘s betrayal of Ukraine that bothers me. It’s his betrayal of the American values of supporting freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. Rule of law encompasses more than just domestic law since the end of World War II there has been a principle that we don’t redraw borders with the sword. A principle that democratically elected leaders have legitimacy that should be supported and I’m sure Trump supporters will list out all of the times that the US has failed to live up to these ideals and list all of the times that the US has supported governments and leaders that openly flout these ideals because it was in our best interest to do so. But there is a difference between supporting the rulers of Saudi Arabia, when there are really no better choices, and the leader of our country openly advocating in favor of might makes right and dictatorships.
Time123 (0bdc57) — 2/24/2025 @ 4:57 pmThe irony is that the modestly successful comedian running Ukraine is doing a better job of communicating American values than the current clown in the Oval Office, which is more than a little frustrating.
Paul Montagu (84c026) — 2/24/2025 @ 5:30 pmOld: The Last Best Hope of Man on Earth.
Recent: The Shining City upon a Hill.
Now: Slouching towards Bethlehem
Kevin M (a9545f) — 2/24/2025 @ 5:30 pmPaul (or anyone):
If you were a Republican Congressman, would you get up and cross the aisle?
Kevin M (a9545f) — 2/24/2025 @ 5:33 pmTrump is a vainglorious blowhard who doesn’t care if strong countries gobble up weaker ones. What an embarrassment.
I hope our NATO allies and Ukraine understand that most Americans support NATO and Ukraine.
norcal (a72384) — 2/24/2025 @ 5:33 pmNow: Slouching towards
BethlehemGomorrah.FIFY
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/24/2025 @ 5:34 pmPaul (or anyone):
If you were a Republican Congressman, would you get up and cross the aisle?
Kevin M (a9545f) — 2/24/2025 @ 5:33 pm
Alas, not every person in Congress can afford $5000 a day in private security for his family, like Romney can.
norcal (a72384) — 2/24/2025 @ 5:35 pmThe reference is to the “rough beast” in Yeats’ “The Second Coming.” Bork’s version of that suggests a social decline, but Trump seems to have that covered.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 2/24/2025 @ 5:38 pmAlas, not every person in Congress can afford $5000 a day in private security for his family, like Romney can.
“Our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor”
Kevin M (a9545f) — 2/24/2025 @ 5:39 pmAgain, stating the obvious.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/24/2025 @ 5:48 pmI know, I know, I keep harping on about these folks and their Nazi-curious ways.
But when you think about choices about the world that exists today and pick which side Hitler Prime would have been on…
…yeah, kind of icky.
Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 2/24/2025 @ 5:49 pmIt may get worse. Putin wants the US to make a deal on rare earths in Russian-occupied Ukraine.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 2/24/2025 @ 6:10 pmIf Trump were President in 1940, he’d be demanding Britain give us Canada for our support.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 2/24/2025 @ 6:11 pmYeah, that is 100%. It’s not like we didn’t offer to the Danes to buy Greenland after WWII, at least we were offering cash, not just that it was the going rate for “protection”.
Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 2/24/2025 @ 6:32 pmMunich 1938 The left has an answer for trump do you?
asset (db7ff7) — 2/24/2025 @ 7:32 pmNo.
Paul Montagu (eacde9) — 2/24/2025 @ 8:00 pmBut I wouldn’t vote on a matter that wasn’t traditionally conservative.
Okay, let’s say that Trump takes a hard line with Putin the way Biden did.
And Putin twitches his pinky finger and tells him what he can go and grab.
Who will coax Donnie out from under his bed (in a fetal position with his thumb in his mouth)?
nk (347ca6) — 2/25/2025 @ 5:29 am20, nk:
Gosh that is such a elevated analysis!
Well, one thing Trump can do is to offer US-based keyboard warriors the chance to fight–put you on a military flight and send you to the front. Show us all how tough you are. But that is as likely as Cher’s promise to leave the US if he was elected.
So if you’re not going, do what “hard-line” Biden did: keep the stalemate fight-grinder going to the death of the last Ukrainain in what seems to be a mismatched fight on the numbers: and without giving Ukraine the weapons that would let it defeat Russia;
Or give Ukraine the weapons it needs to really defeat Russia, or US troops–and let’s see what happens!
Which of those do you recommend?
Or do you have another option? (And no, a UN resolution backed by countries that won’t fight Putin is not an option-only a group of bystanders saying “let’s you and him fight”).
Harcourt Fenton Mudd (bc8284) — 2/25/2025 @ 6:44 amMaintain the sanctions; harden them where necessary; chink them as needed.
Send weapons as needed, both to defend and to carry the fight to the enemy.
Stop blaming the victim, and discouraging international support!
nk (a70671) — 2/25/2025 @ 6:52 am@21, As NK points out there’s a lot of steps to take in supporting UKE prior to a full US mobilization. Why do you jump to “If you believe this is a a good policy you need to personally go and fight”?
It’s an honest question, we don’t see that in other policy areas. No one says “if you want to make sure kids have enough to eat you should personally go cook for them” or “if you want the government to fight fires you need to grab an axe and start cutting a fire break”
But it comes up a lot and in this instance and I don’t get it.
Time (bf9676) — 2/25/2025 @ 7:35 am23. totally fair Q: It was a staple question in the late 60’s. Because in WWII, even rich kids fought, and movie stars enlisted or were drafted, whereas in Vietnam, the sons of the people urging US intervention with US troops, were frequently sheltered by deferments. It resonated then, and back in ancient times (the Romans in their heyday, had lots of nobles fighting). (its good for morale).
It resonates today as well, because wars have proven to be quicksand for troops, money and comittment: we started Vietnam as “advisors,” and wound up in a full scale jungle war, with the Army clamoring for more troops, higher draft calls, B-52’s dropping all measure of bombs, etc–none of which was ever voted on or contemplated when we went in as advisors.
We went to Afghanistan and stayed 20+ years and 2 Trillion.
Its all too easy to compel kids from Iowa to fight the wars from which the DC beltway people are insulated. The Volunteer Army mooted the issue to some extent, that, but the desire of some to glue the the US to the defense of [insert name], etc., with all the risk and cost that entails, remains.
I like the Ukraine. They actually fight. Putin is a bad man, and Russia cannot be trusted. But I am leery of how “contained wars” develop.
Harcourt Fenton Mudd (0c349e) — 2/25/2025 @ 8:49 am@24, thank you for the explanation. Vietnam was before my time, while I’m familiar with the history things from that era don’t resonate.
I get the slippery slope argument, but we have a lot more equipment we could sell / donate before US troops need be on the ground…..
Time (bf9676) — 2/25/2025 @ 10:05 amNobody compels kids to fight. It’s a volunteer army. And even in WWII, there were exemptions. I doubt they pulled kids out of CalTech, I know they didn’t draft people working for Voight or Douglas, but yes, even Bushes and Kennedys fought and some died.
Not sure how the blanket exemption happened for college students. It may have been the same process where National Defense Student Loans (for STEM and languages only) were broadened to include any subject and any school.
—-
After some research, I find this research paper: The Draft and College Deferments During the Korean War
And it then goes on to describe a series of attempts to balance the war goals with the need for education, starting with the sciences and engineering. So, the did not pull people out of CalTech, but attending South Boise State wasn’t going to work.
After the war ended a series of liberalizations followed, eventually ending up in the Vietnam era with most students getting deferments. But not all. In 1966, students had to pass a test, with the Army taking the stupid ones. In 1971, student deferments were ended, but so did the draft pretty much.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 2/25/2025 @ 11:24 amI get the slippery slope argument, but we have a lot more equipment we could sell / donate before US troops need be on the ground…..
But there is the flip side: our clear unwillingness to commit troops may encourage aggressors. If we were willing to commit troops in cases like Ukraine, as we are in Korea or NATO, perhaps it would serve as deterrence. I can see Putin being unwilling to throw the dice against a more proactive America (and given his military’s multiple failures in the Ukraine invasion, that unwillingness would have saved him from disaster).
Kevin M (a9545f) — 2/25/2025 @ 11:29 amNorth Korea doesn’t attack South Korea due to that deterrence, and the memory that — starting from a mere toehold — the UN forces rolled North Korea up in a matter of months. Had China stayed out of the war, there would be no North Korea.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 2/25/2025 @ 11:31 amThe link doesn’t work.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/25/2025 @ 11:39 amRelated:
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/25/2025 @ 11:43 amMinerals deal to be signed soon?
https://archive.is/T6Bsr
steveg (36c652) — 2/25/2025 @ 12:20 pmFor the analogy to really work, it’s 1942 and Germany is still mired in Poland.
lloyd (ca9351) — 2/25/2025 @ 12:52 pm26: you mean its a volunteer army [now]
Harcourt Fenton Mudd (0c349e) — 2/25/2025 @ 1:12 pmHere’s my question to Dana, Time123, Paul, Rip, Kevin…
What are the terms that Ukraine wins this war?
whembly (b7cc46) — 2/25/2025 @ 1:30 pmWhat are the terms that Ukraine wins this war?
Ukraine formally cedes Crimea, Russia withdraws from everywhere else. Seized Russian funds are made available to rebuild both Ukraine and Russia from war damage. Ukraine gets military defense treaties with either NATO of enough of NATO to be credible. Putin’s war crimes charges are withdrawn and sanctions are lifted.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 2/25/2025 @ 3:49 pmThe link doesn’t work.
It’s a PDF; look in your downloads
Kevin M (a9545f) — 2/25/2025 @ 3:51 pmIf you don’t like the PDF downloading automatically, google the paper’s title. You should get a dozen hits of sites where it is available for download on your terms.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 2/25/2025 @ 3:53 pm