Andrew Bolt: Trump’s shock Ukraine rant may just have been negotiating bluster
Donald Trump hasn’t sold out Ukraine — yet. In fact, there are signs he may instead give Vladimir Putin, the Russian President and war criminal, a nasty surprise.
Andrew Bolt
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I don’t believe the headlines that scream Donald Trump has “sided with Putin” and “sold out Ukraine”.
Not yet, he hasn’t.
In fact, I see signs Trump may instead give Vladimir Putin, the Russian President and war criminal, a nasty surprise.
I was shocked last week when Trump raged that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “started” this war with Russia and was a “dictator without elections” who’d ripped off Americans.
All lies. Trump even demanded the elected Zelensky sign a ruinous deal to hand over half of Ukraine’s future earnings from his country’s critical minerals and ports to repay American support. European leaders panicked: Was Trump going to hand Ukraine over to Putin, who’d grabbed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and three years ago started a full-scale invasion to steal the rest? Was Trump retreating from the defence of Western allies and values?
But it now seems this was just typical Trump negotiating bluster – terrifying everyone with his unpredictability, forcing them to tiptoe around him and offer him the deals he craves.
I now see potentially good signs since Trump’s terrible rant.
For one, Trump has since admitted on Fox radio that, actually, it was Putin who started this war. Getting Trump to admit error is amazing – and telling.
What’s more, Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted the US does still “care about” Ukraine “because it has implications for our allies and ultimately for the world”.
Weapon supplies had not been cut off, and Trump wanted a peace deal that Ukraine could live with. Trump has also dropped key demands in his proposed deal over Ukraine’s resources, which Zelensky will now sign, since it no longer forces Ukraine to hand over hundreds of billions of dollars.
And claims that Trump is abandoning allies and pandering to tyrants are contradicted by his fierce support for Israel and the additional sanctions he announced this week on Iran, Russia’s big arms supplier.
Zelensky might even be grateful to Trump. European leaders were so rattled by Trump’s threats that they’ve promised Ukraine more support, including even peacekeepers to guarantee its security.
The heat is now on Putin. Zelensky has seemed to bow to Trump. So what concessions is Putin making to give Trump the peace deal he promised?
I suspect Putin can’t make any deal that even Trump could live with. If not, the next Trump rage could be aimed at him.
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