America is, fundamentally, a good country filled mostly with good people. It is to the nation’s great discredit, therefore, that those people have elected a man of horrendous character to hold its most powerful office. By turning America’s government against Ukraine in its existential stand against Russia, President Donald Trump has reached the pinnacle of his depravity.
So far in his second term, Trump has pardoned hundreds of supporters who mauled police officers and hunted lawmakers to serve his insatiable ego. He has stripped his own former officials of security details tasked with thwarting credible threats to their lives, simply because he does not like them anymore. And he has struck a bargain with Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City charged with corruption, to squelch his prosecution in exchange for political favors.
But during the last two weeks, Trump has outdone himself. In the barbaric war that Vladimir Putin’s Russia launched against Ukraine three years ago — a war waged to erase an independent nation, subjugate its citizenry and terrorize its people — the president is firmly on Putin’s side.
Trump will not allow Ukraine to participate in talks to end the war, but his underlings have offered myriad concessions to Russia on its behalf. Before “negotiations” even began, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Ukraine would not retake control of territory stolen by Russia, nor would it enjoy the security of NATO membership. Meanwhile, Trump offered Ukraine economic extortion, seeking a “mineral deal” that would siphon off more of the country’s resources than Germany owed in reparations after World War I.
These ludicrous proposals to “end the war” (read: surrender) seem to flow from a perverted conception of the conflict’s origins and nature. Enter the twisted caverns of Trump’s mind: It was not Russia that started this war but Ukraine. Sure, Russia was the one who invaded its neighbor with troops and tanks, but shame on Ukraine for not rolling over.
Trump is too polite to call Putin a dictator (how his political opponents keep dying is a mystery) but will gladly thrust that label on Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Apparently, Trump is concerned that Ukraine has not held an election since Russia began bombing its cities and imprisoning five million of its citizens.
America was founded on the premise of self-evident truths — propositions apparent to any mind unclouded by foolishness or willful ignorance. By now, here are some self-evident truths the president ought to know: Putin is a dictator. Zelenskyy is not. Russia is the monstrous aggressor. Ukraine is the incredible resistance. The obstacle to peace is not Ukraine insisting on its right to exist but Putin’s refusal to get out.
The president’s malice for Ukraine spewed forth on Feb. 24 in a despicable showing at the United Nations. On the war’s third anniversary, Ukraine introduced a resolution to condemn Russia for its invasion. Along with 17 other nations — including such beacons of virtue like North Korea, Belarus and Russia itself — the United States voted against the resolution. Not even China and Iran, who abstained from the vote, were shameless enough to coddle Putin so overtly. America, under Trump’s direction, was.
Then, in the Oval Office days later, came the most abominable display of all. While meeting with a narcissistic toddler and a condescending reprobate — Trump and Vice President JD Vance, respectively — Zelenskyy refused to affirm their delusion that Putin’s word alone could be trusted in any deal. For this transgression, for daring to mention that Russia had violated previous ceasefires with Ukraine time and again, Trump and Vance berated Zelenskyy as a warmonger.
In truth, Zelenskyy was the only person in the meeting who knew what is required for an enduring peace: Western security guarantees. Short a commitment from Europe and the U.S. to help protect Ukraine in the future, Putin will not honor a ceasefire. He will use it to rearm and then invade again. So, if Trump really wants to end and not pause the war, he must understand that peace is made out of deterrence — not promises.
As for what the Ukrainian people have done to earn America’s ire, who can say? Their fight should be a source of profound inspiration and gratitude. When the war began, conventional wisdom said that Russia would swallow Ukraine in a handful of days. Putin believed that the Ukrainian people would welcome him as a liberator. Instead, they pushed back. Hard.
President Zelenskyy could have fled as Russian mercenaries neared to kill him and his family. He decided to stay put — and requested ammunition while he was at it. How many other men would have done the same? Soldiers and civilians alike took up arms to defend their home and have not laid them down since. Tens of thousands have died for their bravery. Hundreds of thousands more have been wounded. Many return to the battlefield nonetheless.
By preserving their nation, Ukrainians have spared America the burden of fortifying the rest of Eastern Europe against an emboldened Russian army. They have frustrated Putin’s aspiration of reconstituting the evil empire that America defeated not so long ago. And for these deeds, Ukraine receives the lies and loathing of America’s head of state.
The late Senator John McCain — whom, like Zelenskyy, Trump resents for his resolve — believed in supporting America’s allies and opposing its enemies. He also believed, strongly, that character is destiny. If so, Americans should pray their destiny is not intertwined with that of their president.