Andrew Bolt: Putin’s ‘respect’ is contempt for Trump

Putin humiliated Trump in their 90-minute call. If Trump is the tough guy his fans adore, the only way he can respond is by helping Europe rearm Ukraine.

Donald Trump insists “we’re a country that’s now respected,” even after Russian President Vladimir Putin humiliated him in their 90-minute call to discuss Ukraine.

“Respected”?

Putin had just treated Trump as a joke, a paper tiger, an empty vessel.

He’d rejected Trump’s ceasefire plan for Ukraine and made impossible demands which Ukraine and Europe could never accept, clearly not fearing Trump would hurt him.

I suspect Trump knows he’s been outplayed by the despot and is trying to hide it, given that his official readout of their talk was very short and reads nothing like Putin’s much longer one.

Trump’s readout boasts of progress to a ceasefire in this savage war Putin started: “The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire”, with a broader ceasefire to be negotiated later.

That’s not actually a Putin concession. It’s a military win.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Strelna and US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington. Picture: Alexey Nikolsky and Nicholas Kamm

Putin wants Ukraine to stop using its new homemade missiles and drones to destroy his valuable oil refineries and depots, like the one in Yuapse hit last weekend.

Otherwise, he wants his army free to keep driving back Ukrainian defenders, and to keep hitting Ukrainian cities.

Hours after Putin and Trump’s call, Russia unleashed another 40 drones on civilian targets across Ukraine, one hitting a hospital in Sumy.

That’s how Putin wants it as he stalls any deal: Ukraine held back while Russia unleashes.

The only other boast in Trump’s readout is that the two leaders discussed the need “to stop proliferation of strategic weapons” in the Middle East and “shared the view that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel”.

They did?

Russia unleashed another 40 drones on civilian targets across Ukraine following the phone call. Picture: Mikhail Metzel

Only when you read Putin’s readout do you see Trump’s humiliation spelled out.

Putin makes no mention of stopping Iran, his arms supplier, or of saving Israel.

There’s just vague talk of trying to “establish co-operation on nuclear non-proliferation”.

As for Ukraine, Putin told Trump there would be no full ceasefire unless Ukraine essentially surrendered and weakened its army, making it a sitting duck if Putin invades a third time.

Putin’s readout says what Trump’s didn’t – that “the Russian side outlined a number of significant points” to include in any ceasefire, such as “the necessity to stop the forced mobilisation in Ukraine and the rearmament of the Ukrainian armed forces”, plus “the complete cessation of foreign military aid and the provision of intelligence information to Kyiv”.

Ukraine can’t rearm but Russia can.

Ukraine can’t get foreign military aid, but Russia can keep getting weapons and soldiers from North Korea and Iran.

US Picture: Jim Watson

There’s no way Ukraine could agree to having its defences stripped down like that.

Putin even insisted Trump agree to his war aims, which were to overthrow Ukraine’s government and turn Ukraine into a Russian-dominated territory: “His American partners (must) take into account the absolute need to eliminate the root causes of the crisis and ensure Russia’s legitimate interests in the field of security”.

This is Putin demanding Trump give him Ukraine, the prize his army couldn’t win in three years of war.

In exchange, Putin made Trump a beads-and-blankets offer that Trump, to his shame, jumped at: “Donald Trump supported Vladimir Putin’s idea to organise hockey matches in the US and Russia between Russian and American players playing in the NHL and KHL.”

Is that it?

Trump gets ice hockey games if Putin gets Ukraine?

If Trump is the bad-ass tough guy his fans adore, there’s only one way he can respond to Putin treating him like a fool or Russian patsy.

It’s to assert America’s strength and values by helping Europe rearm Ukraine to the teeth to make Putin realise his army and country will bleed out if he doesn’t back off.

The pair are did manage to organise hockey matches in the US and Russia between Russian and American players. Picture: Drew Angerer and Gavriil Grigorov

But Trump has been so careless and boastful, claiming he’d end this war in a day and trashing Ukraine as a corrupt sponge of US aid.

He might yet agree to Putin’s demands as a quick way to get his promised “peace”.

It would never work, of course.

Ukraine couldn’t accept this surrender and would limp on without Trump, fighting for its freedom, but with fewer friends and weapons.

Russia’s allies would then gloat.

Already on Tuesday, China sent 59 military aircraft, nine naval ships and two spy balloons to test Taiwan’s air defences, ahead of the invasion its president has threatened, come the day the US looks too weak to defend its friends.

That day will dawn when Trump does abandon Ukraine, mistaking the contempt of Russia and China for “respect”.