White House Zelensky attack ‘out of touch with reality’

It is staggering to see the United States, its President and other officials behaving in a way that’s completely out of touch with reality. This week, one could write pages refuting with facts and logic virtually almost everything President Trump has said about Russia, Vladimir Putin, Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelensky.

However, unless you are controlled by the Kremlin, you already know this.

Trump displays no understanding of history, while repeating Putin’s fictional views and parroting the Kremlin propaganda. President Trump throws around inaccurate polling numbers on President Zelensky. He calls Zelensky a “dictator” even though Zelensky was democratically elected with a huge majority compared to any margin ever found in American elections. The administration is pushing for Ukraine to have elections. Is the administration aware of the phony elections that keep Putin in office in Russia? Vice-President JD Vance lectured Europe on freedom of speech, but is there any concern about the almost total absence of free speech in Russia?

G Jaworsky, Wollert, Vic

With the respect that the office of president of the United States deserves, it seems Donald Trump’s rhetoric on the Russian invasion and war in Ukraine is either wanting to rewrite history, or he is ill-informed. Saying the war was started by Ukraine is not based on fact and to describe Volodymyr Zelensky, a strong leader, as a dictator should cause Trump to look into a mirror.

Michael Schilling, Millswood, SA

US President Donald Trump has had a successful start to his presidency, which has received popular support, but his comments and policies on Ukraine could be a turning point. Vladimir Putin is the dictator and has his opponents eliminated.

Elections in Russia are a sham, so demanding elections in Ukraine is hypocrisy. Putin started the war by invading Ukraine, so blaming Zelensky is not correct. Trump is correct to blame Biden for spending billions without proper accounting, and the Europeans for taking a back seat.

It is time for the US to step back and hand over the problem to the Europeans, who need to recognise they should be an equal force to the US in policing world peace.

Raymond Watson, Sunnybank Hills, Qld

Donald Trump’s ridiculous and dangerous attack on Volodymyr Zelensky’s judgment and honesty in relation to the conduct of the war with Russia doesn’t bode well for the AUKUS arrangement. It’s reported that Trump has told his newly minted Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, to expect substantial cuts in the military budget. Big-ticket items such as nuclear-powered submarines are absolutely certain to be “closely examined”.

I would expect Trump will lose interest in supplying the Virginia-class submarines to Australia and keep any which do roll off the production line for the US Navy. If Trump maintains his current tactic of misrepresenting facts to suit his agenda then, no doubt, Australia will be characterised as taking advantage of America’s generosity. The sooner we look at America with clear eyes the better.

Terence Golding, Bolwarra, NSW

Whatever the method behind Donald Trump’s unconventional negotiating style, it’s already producing beneficial results with European countries agreeing to bolster their defences and to plan on a permanent peacekeeping force in Ukraine. Notwithstanding the global repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it is in Europe’s backyard and Trump is correct to question why the US has provided the bulk of defence aid to Ukraine. Europe has received its wake-up call.

I wonder what circumstances will jolt Australia out of its dreamy state, a weak economy due to an ideological commitment to unaffordable and unreliable renewable energy, and a dangerously vulnerable defence force?

Ron Hobba, Camberwell, Vic

I notice that Donald Trump has a bust of Winston Churchill in the Oval Office. Churchill took on the role of prime minister in May 1940 and a general election was not held until July 1945, some five years later.

The reason was that Churchill was busy defending his country against an aggressive, European-based dictator. Does that, I wonder, make Winston Churchill a dictator?

Gareth Davies, McCracken, SA