Donald Trump’s embrace of Vladimir Putin raises a fundamental question about America’s role in the world: Is the United States still committed to defending democracy, sovereignty, and the Western alliance—or is it prepared to sacrifice those principles for a deal with the Kremlin?
There has never been any doubt among a large segment of the nation that Trump was being held hostage by Putin for something that is most vile and likely criminal. (I have long believed this claim has to do with underage girls.) From the early days of the 2016 presidential election to the latest evidence of Trump providing hard currency for Putin as he wages war against the sovereign nation of Ukraine, the behavior of Trump leaves no room for doubt. Last week, I stated it as fact. What Trump is doing by underpinning the Russian economy is nothing short of treason.
In mere days, the geopolitical landscape has grown considerably more ominous. Trump has suggested Ukraine should get a new president, blamed Volodymyr Zelenskyy for high diesel prices, and, as Reuters reported, made a most treacherous move.
Leaders at the Department of Defense received an order from inside the White House to slow the Starshield satellite system that Ukraine uses for battlefield communications and drone operations, two U.S. officials and a Western official briefed on the matter told Reuters Thursday. Trump is helping kill grandmothers and kids in Ukraine.
The ignorant MAGA crowd, who would have you think that every brown person is a criminal, every follower of Islam is a terrorist, vaccines are deadly, and fluoride in water is dangerous, now spews that Ukraine is responsible for high diesel prices. (I guess they lost the note card about President Joe Biden being the person to blame.) No one ever accused that group of studying economics. Crude-oil markets, refining capacity, and supply disruptions from Trump’s needless and senseless war against Iran shape diesel prices. Blaming Ukraine is far easier for the anti-Mensa crowd than learning about the complex global energy market.
Where we are today is not so different from what took place in 2016. After all, we haven’t fallen into a historical vacuum. As we would learn from every intelligence agency in our nation, there was broad agreement that Putin ordered an influence campaign targeting the American presidential election and that Moscow developed a clear preference for Trump. A bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee subsequently found the assessment well supported. That is documented history.
What I want to press in this column is that it matters immensely as to what America stands for. Western democracy rests on national sovereignty, the legitimacy of elections, and the principle that military aggression that runs counter to international law should not be rewarded at the expense of its victims. When Trump pressures an invaded ally to change its leadership while seeking accommodation with the aggressor, those principles are severely tested. It is treasonous to its core.
Putin’s objective has long been to weaken Western unity. He has used, and continues to use, pliable Trump to his advantage.
But for the citizens of this nation with spine and steel in their characters, we must resolve to remain faithful to the democratic values that we have long known are worth defending.
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