Is this the week that the long-standing bromance between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin came to an end? It sounds as though it might be but, with these two kooky tyrants, you just never know. But taken at face value, it seems as though President Trump has come to the conclusion that maybe his bff isn’t on the level about wanting peace with Ukraine. Can it be possible that his pal Vlad doesn’t even care about Trump winning the Nobel Peace Prize?
Most people with any sense have known from the beginning of this saga that Putin sees Trump as a fool and operates solely out of his own personal interests. As an ex-KGB agent he was trained to see people’s weaknesses and Trump’s are as obvious as the garish bronze make-up slathered all over his face. He yeanrs to be taken seriously by people he admires and he very much admires Vladimir Putin.
Recall that before he was even president he weirdly lied about already knowing him, declaring that they had been “stable mates” when in reality they had just been featured in separate profiles on 60 Minutes. And Putin had his number. During the first campaign he made the comment that Trump was “a very bright and talented man,” and an “absolute leader” when sent Trump over the moon making him gush, “it is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond.” He’s defended and supported him ever since and, more importantly, trusting him based upon what he saw as their deep personal friendship.
In this last election, one of Trump’s central promises was that he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours. He’s since tried to walk that back, claiming that he was “exaggerating” or joking but it was a part of his stump speech and he’s been documented saying it at least 53 times.
I think most of us understood that he meant Putin would agree to settle for the land he had already illegally seized and Ukraine would essentially surrender. He thought that both parties would eagerly accept this “deal” because in his mind Russia has all “the cards” and Ukraine is a weak state that knows it cannot possibly survive. They’d be even more motivated if he threw in some promises of real estate developments and agreements to pay for mineral rights. And Trump would finally win that coveted Nobel prize because he’s just that awesome.
None of that is working out the way he planned it. Vlad has been shining him on with the friendly banter he knows Trump loves while doing exactly as he pleases. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has withstood withering public humiliation at Trump’s hands and held fast to his commitment to fight for his country. The Europeans, who don’t see this Russian invasion of a sovereign country with the same equanimity as Trump does, have stepped into the void as well. Every day the war continues, Trump proves himself to be a feckless blowhard to the entire world.
He hasn’t got a clue what to do about it. Trump’s never been a detail man, largely because he doesn’t really understand them and doesn’t have the patience to learn. Last week the pentagon announced that the U.S was pausing its weapons shipments to Ukraine, ostensibly because we don’t have any to spare. It came as a shock to Zelensky and the Europeans but no doubt pleased Putin. He has been relentlessly bombarding Ukraine even as Trump has been mewling ineffectually on Truth Social, “Vladimir, stop!”
CNN has reported that this policy was initiated by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth without the White House’s knowledge and Trump appeared to be caught unawares when a reporter asked who had approved it, oddly responding, “I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?” Pressed about this the next day by NYT reporter Shawn McCreesh he was clearly befuddled:
McCreesh: Yesterday, you said that you were not sure who ordered the munitions halted to Ukraine. Have you since been able to figure that out?
Trump: Well, I haven’t thought about it, because we’re looking at Ukraine right now and munitions, but no, I have not gone into it.
McCreesh: What does it say that such a big decision could be made inside your government without your knowing?
Trump: I would know. If a decision was made, I will know. I’ll be the first to know. In fact, most likely I’d give the order, but I haven’t done that yet.
It was done and then it was rescinded, presumably by the White House, after Trump had a long and apparently unsatisfying conversation with his former best bud in Moscow. In a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump slammed Putin in terms we’ve never heard him use before. He said, “We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.” Imagine that.
Reversing the Pentagon “pause” he approved defensive weapons for Ukraine and expressed an open mind about Lindsey Graham’s tough Russian sanctions bill which would heavily punish other countries that do business with Russia. People seem to be cautiously optimistic that Trump has finally seen the light and realized that Vladimir Putin doesn’t have hi best interests at heart.
I’ll believe it when I see it. It’s not that it’s impossible that Trump could be playing some kind of game to force Putin to the negotiating table, it’s just very unlikely that Putin would fall for it. He’s had Trump wound around his little finger from the moment Trump came down the escalator back in 2015. He knows how to work him and he knows that deep down, Trump is terrified of any kind of serious confrontation.
He must have laughed out loud when he read that Trump bragged to donors during the campaign that he’d told Putin he’d “bomb the s— out of Moscow” if Putin invaded Ukraine and that Putin was cowed by the threat. Trump has now been the president for six months and all he’s come up with is to whine that he’s “not happy” — and watch his dream of the Nobel Peace Prize shatter once again. Is the famous bromance shattered as well?
Salon