By
This is an adapted excerpt from the March 8 episode of “Ayman.”
During his campaign, Donald Trump made a lot of big promises to voters, including his vow that, if elected, he would end Russia’s war with Ukraine within 24 hours. But, of course, that didn’t happen nor was it ever going to. In fact, with Trump in the White House, we’re even further from peace, especially after his shameful Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy late last month.
Since that day, Trump has been on a PR blitz with three main objectives:
- Make Zelenskyy seem ungrateful.
- Blame former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama for the war.
- And convince the American people he’s tough on Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite his actions saying otherwise.
“He [Zelenskyy] took money out of this country, under Biden, like candy from a baby — it was so easy. ... I just don’t think he’s grateful,” Trump told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo.
He added: “Nobody has been tougher on Russia than Donald Trump. Nobody. And they know that. They know that.”
Given Trump’s history, none of this should shock Ukraine, Europe or NATO.
Now, Trump did threaten Russia with sanctions recently, but that threat felt incredibly hollow. Plus, Russia is already heavily sanctioned by the U.S. Beyond the talk, Trump has made a string of recent decisions against Ukraine. He has halted military aid. He has cut off intelligence sharing and access to satellite imagery, which Ukraine uses to track Russian troops. And now, he wants more than just a minerals deal from Zelenskyy in order to give back aid and intelligence. Trump even said he was considering revoking protections for more than 240,000 Ukrainian refugees in the U.S.
If this war feels far from over to us, imagine how Ukrainians must feel right now. As for Putin, he’s taking full advantage. Russian attacks have ramped up. Last week, Russia launched airstrikes across Ukraine, killing at least 20 and injuring many more.
When Trump came into office, it was clear he was looking for a quick win. He knows that’s not happening with Gaza, so maybe he figured: Why not gamble with Ukraine? But that’s not working either. So now he needs someone to blame and that appears to be Zelenskyy.
Given Trump’s history, none of this should shock Ukraine, Europe or NATO. Trump has praised Putin over and over. Back in 2018, he even said Crimea should be part of Russia, two diplomatic sources told BuzzFeed at the time. Just off that alone, maybe every party involved should have had a plan in place for the day Trump ditched the norms of U.S. foreign policy.
Ukraine might rely on the U.S., but Zelenskyy isn’t letting Trump paint it as weak.
Ukraine might rely on the U.S., but Zelenskyy isn’t letting Trump paint it as weak. Ukraine has made it clear it refuses to surrender without real security guarantees. That’s because Zelenskyy still has options. Europe is still sending billions in aid, domestic weapons production is ramping up and Ukrainians are already figuring out how to counter Trump siding with Putin.
Bottom line: Trump is trying to twist Zelenskyy’s arm like Ukraine is some colonial asset. He expects Ukraine to roll over and sign a “peace deal” because he tells it to. Trump, like Putin, sees Ukraine as an obstacle, just something to be controlled. He believes it should be grateful to have a seat at the table.
But Trump is making the same mistake as Putin: underestimating Ukraine. As history keeps proving, underestimating a country and its people never ends well.