Trump's idea of a "deal" for Ukraine is peak arrogance

As usual, Donald Trump just doesn't get it, living as he does on a complete different planet from the rest of us.

Inserting himself into yet another situation where he's not really wanted, Trump is "making deals" with global pariah, Vladimir Putin, presenting a peace plan for the 3-year old war in Ukraine without even involving Ukraine (or Europe).

Trump is desperate to earn himself the Nobel Peace Prize, and his simplistic conception of brokering peace is to offer his buddy Putin whatever he wants, Ukraine be damned. So, as far as he is concerned, Russia can keep the Donbas and anything else they might have illegally annexed, and he is quite happy to conclude a deal - on behalf of Ukraine - assuring that Ukraine will never join NATO (another of Putin's stipulations), which would be the only thing standing between Ukraine and another invasion by Russia a few years down the road, to finish the job once and for all.

"I think I have the power to end this war", says Trump. Well, yes, if you mean by giving part (or even all) of Ukraine to bro-buddy Vladimir Putin. But that's not, it should be noted, the point.

Trump doesn't care about Ukraine, nor does he care about morality or  "doing the right thing". That is not who he is. All he cares about is his legacy and what makes money for the USA. With gob-smacking cynicism, he is tying further support for Ukraine to American access to Ukrainian rare earth minerals. He blithely deadpans, "They may be Russian someday or they may not be Russian someday". His scorn and arrogance knows no bounds.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is being understandably carefully in his public remarks about Trump, buy he must be seething inside. Europe is, perhaps rashly, being less careful in its language, using phrases like "dictated peace", "appeasement" and "dirty deal". Trump has already made clear that he is not willing to bankroll Ukraine further, and has even indicated that Europe can no longer rely on the USA's help with its own security. Let's hope it doesn't get any worse.

UPDATE

It's already getting worse. In one of his many unguarded moments, Trump even accused Ukraine of starting the war. Repeating Putin's claims that it was not Russia but Ukraine that started the wars in 2014 and 2022, Trump said, 

"I hear they're upset at not having a seat. Well, they've had a seat for three years and a long time before that. This could have been settled very easily. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal."

Unbelievable. What world does he live in?

And then of course he just waded in and made everything even worse, as is his wont, calling Zelenskyy a "dictator" for not holding elections while the country is under martial law after the Russian invasion, and questioning his legitimacy in office (a common Russian theme). (UPDATE: Later, Trump would say about this incident, "Did I say that? I can't believe I said that. Next question", trying to laugh it off.)

He further claimed that Zelenskyy's approval rating - Trump's measure of legitimacy, where TV ratings are not available - is down at 4%. No-one is very sure where he plucked that particular figure from. The most recent official survey, earlier this month, has Zelenskyy at 57% - down from 77% at the end of 2023, granted, but 4%?

How far has this bare-faced attempt at American-Russian revisionism gone? Well, as we approach the three-year mark of the war, the US is openly resisting a joint G7 statement condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine. Washington is apparently "concerned" at the way in which the war is being framed in the proposed statement. Trump has also proposed that Russia be allowed back into the G7, from which it was ejected after annexing Crimea back in 2014. Just what kind of hold does Putin have over Trump and his feckless Republican lackeys?