“This is going to be great television,” President Trump declared with satisfaction after he and his vice-president teamed up to hector Ukrainian President Zelensky about his alleged lack of gratitude to the US. This after telling Zelensky that “you have no cards” and “you’re not winning this war.”
The divorce between the US and Ukraine/Europe is now consummated. Zelensky left the White House without signing the (sham) mineral extraction deal imposed on him by Trump. What further threats will be forthcoming from the White House remain to be seen. Trump can cut off the flow of US intelligence to Ukrainian forces or order Elon Musk to suspend access to Starlink, either ow which would be crippling to the defense effort. No combination of European countries is in a position to replace these vital resources.
Yet all is not lost. Trump’s interest had been to secure a bonus cease fire in order to portray himself as a peacemaker while at the same time closing a lucrative minerals bargain to enrich himself and his cronies. If, instead, he brings about a Ukrainian collapse and facilitates the ensuing Russian revenge, he will bear the blame. His MAGA base might well cheer him for it, but the rest of the world surely will not. The damage already done to America’s reputation is immense, but it could easily become irreparable. We are nearly there already. Trump is convinced that his “great television” plays well in Peoria, and he may well be right, but that doesn’t mean it well play well in Pretoria or Peking, Poland or Peru. Prudent people refrain from provoking bullies but may be moved to gang up on them when the moment is right.
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The only question remaining is: When President Zelensky is assassinated, will Trump or Putin or both together have ordered the hit?
We in Western Europe must prepare ourselves to welcome several hundred thousand, possibly millions of innocent Ukrainian refugees once the consequences of US treason arrive on the ground.
The USA now appears as a country that cannot be trusted to its former allies. China, which is carefully avoiding speaking out but is likely carefully preparing itself is now appearing as a much more stable and reliable country than the USA to most nations.
In the White House, the cowards. Two against one; in their native language; in their time zone. Make America Grotesque Again.
In other news, some Russian local governments are presenting war widows with… meat grinders. Shades of Hamburger Hill (Russian slang has the same metaphor). An idea for Musk’s next freak show?