Donald Trump: American Advocate

Perhaps we should extend the adage, "Don't bite the hand that feeds you," to include the warning, "because it might come back and slap you." As I watched President Trump forcefully remind Ukrainian President Zelenskyy of the hundreds of billions of dollars he has received from American taxpayers while driving home the point that we have no interest in financing endless carnage that could trigger World War III, it occurred to me that I was finally seeing an American president advocate for the American people, who've been paying for endless wars in American blood and treasure for far too long. 

Of the many things that could be said about Friday's contentious Oval Office exchange between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, it cannot be said that President Zelenskyy wasn't warned against litigating his desire for American military security guaranties in a visit solely designed to seal an economically lucrative partnership with the United States — a deal that would also bring American companies into Ukraine (which itself provides a security guaranty against further Russian military aggression). 

Indeed, according Secretary of State Marco Rubio: 

For the last 10 days, in every engagement we've had with the Ukrainians, there have been complications in getting that point across, including the public statements that President Zelensky has made. But they insisted on coming to [Washington] DC. This agreement could have been signed five days ago. They insisted on coming to Washington. It should have been a very clear understanding. Don't come here and create a scenario where you're going to start lecturing us about diplomacy isn't going to work. President Zelensky took it in that direction and it ended in a predictable outcome as a result. It's unfortunate. It wasn't supposed to be this way, but that's the path that he chose and, I think, frankly, it sends his country backwards in regards to achieving peace.

Let's face reality, shall we? Ukraine has huge amount of money and weapons from NATO and the West generally, with America providing the lion's share of both. What Ukraine lacks, at this point, is a massive number of Ukrainians. Hence, as the BBC reported nearly a year ago, Ukraine's military conscription laws were changed to require that all males from ages 25 to 60 must sign up for mobilization. As a result, potential conscripts have been going into hiding in order to avoid mobilization squads who have a reputation for pulling men from buses and train stations and shuttling them to enlistment centers.  

From the BBC article we learn of Tania, who resides in Odessa overlooking the Black Sea. Her father was killed in action in Oct. 2023, and her 24-year-old new husband was facing possible conscription as well. "More than two years into the war," the article continues, "almost everyone knows someone who has been killed. Grim news has poured out from the front, of Ukraine being vastly outnumbered and outgunned."

In short, absent a full-fledged confrontation between two superpowers, Ukraine cannot win this war. As Mark Steyn noted, "If prolonging an unwinnable war will only accelerate your deathbed demography, then it's time to negotiate. And having Trump onboard for that would be helpful." 

Nevertheless, in the moments leading up to the verbal thrashing we all witnessed, President Zelensky ignored the advice of US officials and lectured President Trump, Vice President Vance, and the American taxpayers who have been his benefactors on the history of Russian aggression and the futility of diplomacy, while all but insisting on an American military presence. However, Zelensky's history lesson neglected the part in which the only period of time between 2008 and 2022 that Russian did NOT invade its neighbors was during President Trump's first term in office. Strength matters. Deterrence matters. The administrations of Barack Obama and Joe Biden possessed neither of those qualities, and Vladimir Putin knows it.  

One hopes that President Zelensky or his successor will come to the realization that a negotiated peace that joins America and Ukraine in an economic alliance will be much preferable to a cataclysmic world war and/or the destruction of Ukraine itself. To be sure, the responsibility for this lies with the Vladimir Putin, who seized upon the weakness and geopolitical ineptitude of previous American presidents in an effort to take as much territory as he could get away with. There are no perfect options here, but Ukraine still has a chance to take the best available option and thrive.