Transactional Diplomacy
On Wednesday, Donald Trump may once again sell out democracy.
He may sell out the sovereignty of a free and independent European ally in favor of capitulating to a brutal Russian dictator. It has the potential to be the latest in a series of actions where Donald Trump has unilaterally moved to assist an invading nation rather than supporting one that was invaded. Whereas previous presidents had moved to prevent such aggressions in places in Kuwait, Donald Trump has consistently failed to stand up for the people of Ukraine. Never before has an American president openly sided with an unprovoked aggressor that has invaded an American ally. And never before has an American president been so chummy with the leader of a nation engaging in such a brutal invasion.
The question is why. Does Donald Trump actually believe that Russia is right to invade Ukraine and try to occupy sovereign territory? Is this part of his overall worldview that authoritarian strongmen can simply conquer neighboring countries by brute force? Or is it something more personal regarding his relationship with Vladimir Putin? Does Trump want to keep in Putin's good graces because he idolizes him? Or does Vladimir Putin have kompromat on Donald Trump that makes him his lapdog for anything and everything that he does regarding blatant violations of international law?
Never before have we had an American president so obviously on the wrong side of history. This is more than Neville Chamberlain's historic appeasement of Adolf Hitler; this is appeasement combined with actively supporting the aggressor to undermine any hope of ending the ongoing conflict by maintaining the invaded country's original borders. Joe Biden and Democrats made it clear that they would stand on the right side of history. The Biden Administration consistently provided military aid and support to Ukraine, and congressional Democrats finally got "Moses" Mike Johnson to move on a $60 billion aid package in April of 2024 after holding his feet to the fire for nearly six months. It was telling that 101 Republicans voted in favor of the last Ukraine aid package, evidence that nearly 45% of House Republicans could actually do the right thing when not pressured by party leadership. When left to their own critical thinking, there still emerged several House and Senate Republicans who understood that supporting Ukraine was the right thing to do.
That's more than can be said for Donald Trump, who has been consistently inconsistent when it comes to supporting Ukraine during his second term. While he and J.D. Vance tried to publicly chastize Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February, they immediately followed up by pausing aid to the country in early March. However, Ukraine was able to get back on Trump's good side in July when Putin continued his war despite Trump's insistence that the war was winding down. Seeing Putin publicly embarrass him did not sit well for Trump, so he immediately began the process of re-arming Ukraine with a proposed "aggressive" weapons plan. This plan came to fruition with last week's commitment of $1 billion of US weapons to be purchased and given to Ukraine by Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands. Now, there are even stirrings that Zelensky himself might join Wednesday's summit in what would be a clear blow to Putin, who hoped to be the sole voice in the room trying to once again get the better of Donald Trump.
Donald Trump is unquestionably indebted to Russia. We may never learn the exact details, but there can be no doubt that Trump owes his entire success to the country. From the Russian money lenders that bailed him out in 1992 to allowing him to host his Miss Universe Pageant in Moscow in 2013 to an entire industry of "birth tourists" utilizing Trump hotels to create American citizens, Donald Trump has put Russia first and America last. But he also sees in Russia the kind of power that he seeks for himself. He sees Vladimir Putin crush his enemies in a way that he openly wants to emulate here in the United States. For a malignant narcissist like Trump, he would like nothing better than to rule the United States the way that Putin rules Russia. It's why he surrounds himself with sycophants rather than experts; he wants fealty instead of policy disagreements. In Trump's twisted mind, he alone is the only one who can "fix" the problem.
What will unfold on Wednesday depends entirely on who ends up in the room with Trump. If it's just Putin, we know Trump will emerge on Putin's side. If it's both Putin and Zelensky, then it's a matter of who can better flatter the Mad King to get what he wants. Never before has the fate of an American ally depended upon the fragile ego of a single man, but here we are. This is diplomacy through adulation, a process normally reserved for the most authoritarian of nations. But when you have the country's oligarchy bend the knee to curry favors like Tim Cook of Apple did last week, you know that we've reached a watershed moment in our history. No longer is the best interest of democracy being prioritized; instead, it's simply who can best praise Dear Leader to offer him the "best deal" according to what he thinks that may be. The upcoming Alaska Summit will only be the latest chapter of the most ill-prepared and ill-advised man to ever hold the office of the presidency.
A man who will only act when it's in his own best self-interest.