Ever the 'half-baked negotiator,' Trump offers Putin key concessions, weakening US | Opinion
While the president insists he is a strong negotiator, it seems Putin has all the leverage, and Trump has no problem parroting Russian talking points as long as he can claim he ended the war.
This week, the Trump administration has ramped up its efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine by saying all the wrong things.
President Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail that he would have the Russia-Ukraine war settled on Day 1. While he missed that timeline by a while, he and his acolytes seem eager to deliver a swift end, regardless of the ramifications.
But while Trump insists he is a strong negotiator, it seems on this issue Russian President Vladimir Putin has all the leverage, and Trump has no problem parroting Russian talking points as long as he can claim he ended the war. Trump's latest approach is to give Putin whatever he wants, and America's international relationships will suffer because of it.
Trump is parroting Putin and attacking Ukraine
Trump has ramped up his comments on the Russia-Ukraine conflict this week, as representatives from the United States and Russia met in Saudi Arabia to negotiate the framework of a peace deal. Trump's commentary has been highly favorable to Russia, indicating how these negotiations are likely to turn out.
“You should’ve never started it,” Trump said in a message responding to Ukraine’s complaints of not being invited to negotiations.
In a different message, he also called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator" for not holding wartime elections, a term he has not used to describe Putin, an actual dictator.
I don’t agree with people who say we shouldn’t be funding Ukraine. I think that supporting Ukraine in this conflict gave us the chance to deplete Russian forces, limit their territorial expansion and test how our weapons systems fared in live combat.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has given the Zelenskyy government nearly $183 billion in military supplies and funding, and that funding has become a significant talking point for Republicans, even as Washington has much larger problems in the spending department.
That being said, there are legitimate arguments on the right that funding for Ukraine went too far, or didn’t have enough conditions attached. I disagree, but these are legitimate concerns that deserve debate.
However, Trump is going far beyond those arguments. His rendition is that Ukraine somehow started this war, provoked Russia and hoodwinked the Democratic Party into funding them. The reality is that three years ago, Russia began an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Since then, the Russians have targeted civilians, tortured prisoners of war and decimated entire cities.
Whether Trump actually believes his narrative or is just appeasing Putin remains up for debate. Either way, the consequence is that it weakens our position while emboldening Russia's. When our European allies become unsure of our willingness to help them, American influence over those countries is put at risk.
Trump is parroting Kremlin talking points following his meetings with Putin aimed at negotiating the end of the war. These meetings took place without Ukraine at the table, and reports indicate that Russia is not a good-faith negotiator, to little surprise.
Instead, Putin seems set on negotiating for the entirety of Ukraine. His forces have broken the supposed “stalemate” in Ukraine and now have the momentum. As support for Ukraine dwindles, Russia is likely to gain more and more ground.
It is the role of the president to negotiate our foreign policy, and Trump is not capable of doing so in America's interest.
Trump's words give Russia the advantage in negotiations
Trump claims that “a half-baked negotiator could have settled this years ago,” and that seems to be exactly who we have settling it now.
In this case, rhetoric has real consequences. The Trump administration’s public statements and encouragement of a quick settlement have taken away Ukraine's leverage. The two outcomes now are a negotiated end to massive concessions to Russia, or continuing to fight without the promise of American assistance, which is a sure defeat for Ukraine.
Trump, despite his persona as a supposed skilled negotiator, has seemingly forgotten about leverage. Beyond the bind that he has put Zelenskyy in, he now has himself in one. Trump is in such a hurry to deliver on his campaign promise of a swift end to conflict that he seems willing to give Putin any concession he wants.
Putin, on the other hand, understands his strong position, insisting that Trump is somehow not going hard enough on Europe or Zelenskyy. Putin knows that Trump cannot return to funding Ukraine in this expensive war, so his only recourse is to give in to whatever Putin says, regardless of what is advantageous for America or Ukraine.
Trump’s response has been to further disparage his and Ukraine’s negotiating position by criticizing past U.S. funding for Ukraine.
It is sad that the U.S. president and his allies have been reduced to puppets for the Kremlin. Conservatism and America deserve better than this.
Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for Paste BN and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.