Despicable: Very Effectively Done
Trump Hands Putin A Win-Win Scenario, Which Was Always The Plan
Hi All,
Can you respect evil when its exceptionally well done? Is it possible to recognize the skill and planning that goes into an extremely well-laid out, devious and, regrettably, effective trap? Is that possible even if those who are trapped are the good guys and those laying the trap are not?
(Answer Below)
I am asking these questions because we have and are still witnessing an extraordinarily effective example of a despicable action being plotted, activated and now unfolding in front of our very eyes. Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have, with some skill, maneuvered Ukraine and the rest of Europe into a terrible position—one from which we will soon see Putin handed a win-win outcome from Trump.
The whole idea that Trump would ever sanction or be tough on Russia was a sham from the start. Trump never had any intention of doing anything to harm or even slightly weaken Putin—far from it. The American president has been entirely consistent and loyal to Putin, and has been working assiduously to get the Russian dictator the best possible deal. He has always wanted to see Ukrainian land transferred to Putin, to make sure Ukraine was kept out of NATO and had no US security guarantees, to have Putin exonerated from the war crime charge and, crucially to have economic sanctions on Russia almost entirely (or even entirely) relaxed.
All his seeming inconsistencies (which were not inconsistencies) were aimed at achieving such a deal for Putin. First, Trump tried to bully the Ukrainians generally and President Zelensky in particular into taking this “deal”. The humiliating meeting at the White House was the key moment in that strategy—though the Ukrainians resisted and Europeans were showing what must have been worrying signs of independence from the USA in reaction.
So Trump pivoted, skilfully it must be admitted, and acted like he never meant any of that, that he was eager now to get tough on Putin, that he really wanted to help Ukraine, and that the USA could be a reliable defense partner for Europe. This was all built on the supposed notion that he was appalled at the Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians—which should have been a tell. Sociopaths do not care about other people.
However, Trump’s “pivot” was taken seriously by far too many. We were told that crippling sanctions were coming on Russia, that Trump was going to apply brutal pressure on Putin, than weapons were going to start flowing in large quantities to Ukraine to help the Ukrainians turn the tide on the battlefield. Such narratives were spread far and wide, egged on by Trump himself who could drop a tweet on Truth social or make a side remark from the Oval Office and people would lose their minds.
In fact last week this sham reached its high points. We were assured that Trump had a new deadline (yesterday, Friday 8 August) which would trigger the most awesome sanctions on Russia. And guess what. On the evening of 7 August the Russians attacked Ukrainian civilians in Bucha and Odesa—the kind of attack that they have been doing for years—and Trump rewarded Putin with a summit meeting in Alaska.
It was a laugh in the face/spit in the eye to all of those who repeated the lie that he was now going to be tough on Putin.
What we will see emerge from Alaska will almost certainly be a catastrophe for Ukraine and Europe. Trump and Putin will cook up a brilliant deal for Russia. It will involve the ceding of a great deal of Ukraine’s legally recognized territory to Russia, no security guarantees of any value—certainly no NATO membership—for Ukraine, and the relaxation if not immediate end of all existing sanctions on Russia.
And Trump will apply massive pressure on European states and Ukraine to support this. He might even threaten to walk away from NATO if European states do not bow to “daddy’s” wishes. Remember, these are states led by some leaders who have prostrated themselves in front of Trump out of their terror that he might leave NATO.
And Ukraine will face the most terrible dilemma. Do they accept this humiliating and destructive deal? Or do they go it alone, unsure of the backing of European states?
And Putin will sit there with a win-win. Either he gets lots of Ukrainian territory, a permanently insecure Ukraine on his border that he can attack again after rebuilding his military, and the relaxation of sanctions, or, he can continue the war with the US moving on from Ukraine and Europe as is.
Trump and Putin have played pro-Ukraine supporters for fools, and sadly they have gotten what they always wanted.
Answer: No—you cannot respect evil well done. You must fear it and fight it—just never treat it as a joke or a subject of derision. Trump has been able to do so much damage because people sometimes treat him like a buffoon or a big joke. Even the TACO line is part of that (sadly). Trump has been relentless and clever in this regard, just in the service of Putin. No respect can ever be given—but also please stop making fun of it.
Agree, Trump is pure evil and something like the outcome you predict is definitely on the cards. But the devil is in the detail, as always. It is highly unlikely that Ukraine will agree to cede any part of its sovereign territory for a mere cease-fire. I think too you may be underestimating the role that the Europeans and Canada can play to defy Trump and his possible threats to leave NATO. Everybody knows, even Trump, that he cannot do this overnight. He can bluster all he wants about "Ukraine not wanting peace" and stop weapons deliveries, but he has more or less done that already. He can't relax sanctions on Russian banks using SWIFT because the Europeans run it. And they will strongly resist lifting their other sanctions, however much pressure Trump exerts. And when Ukraine says no and vows to fight on, how will Americans, in Congress and public opinion, react as Putin steps up his campaign of terror against Ukrainian cities ? In the six days between now and August 15, a lot can and will happen to stop Trump's evil prevailing. It is not even impossible that the Alaska meeting will be postponed or even cancelled.
The ISW already said that ceding territory means that Ukraine must leave their current fortified positions and that would leave them very vulnerable for future attacks on Slovyansk for instance. Zelensky already said that under Ukraine constitution, it's not up to him to concede Ukrainian territory. So no, the deal is not gonna happen. Perhaps it's better to not pay too much attention to what Trump says and does. As with the tariff talks, more and more evidence shows up that European and Japanese concessions on tariffs are more likely to damage US economy. Instead, I'm more interested in EU, UK and Ukraine response to the Alaska summit. I'm critical of the coalition of willing countries, but they're acting for the good of Ukraine. Slowly but surely, that's where the real power lines in Europe run now.