President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance threw down the gauntlet in their Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Three years after Russian troops invaded Ukraine with the aim of wiping the country off the map, Trump lambasted the man who rejected the Biden administration’s advice to flee his country and instead resisted the Russian onslaught singlehandedly establishing Ukraine as the frontline in then fight for European freedom and democracy.
Donald Trump Wants to Dump Ukraine
Trump’s reading of history is morally averse. By drawing equivalence between Russia and Ukraine, Trump ignores Putin’s denial of Ukraine’s right to exist.
On college campuses, students and progressive professors have long criticized U.S. policy and “forever war” with the slogan, “No blood for oil.” If they understood history better, they might realize that the commonality in U.S. policy across administrations is a rejection of attempts to annex and erase other countries.
In the post-World War II period, this explains President Harry S. Truman’s involvement in Korea, President Lyndon Johnson’s intervention in Vietnam, George H.W. Bush’s rescue of Kuwait, Bill Clinton’s deployment of the U.S. military into Bosnia, and Barack Obama’s reluctant reentry into Iraq and intervention in Syria.
Ukraine breaks the mold only in its willingness to fight absent U.S. troops. In theory, at least until today’s Oval Office quarrel, Ukraine was the perfect ally for a Trump-led White House. Where else could Trump find a country willing to sacrifice so much while demanding so little for its freedom? By throwing Zelensky under the bus, Trump not only emboldens Russia to demand more from Ukraine, but he also imperils Europe more directly.
NATO or not, the United States will simply not come to the defense of Estonia, Latvia, or Lithuania, let alone Poland. They are on their own. Nor could Russia be the only aggressor: Turkey seeks half of the Aegean and all of Cyprus.
Will anyone support Greece and Cyprus if Turkey invades? The fundamental flaw in Undersecretary of Defense-nominee Elbridge Colby’s logic has always been that those making excuses to turn their backs on Ukraine would somehow rally to Taiwan’s defense rather than making similar excuses, perhaps gravitating to the next ambitious Colby who would argue Taiwan was not worth it and instead the United States should keep its powder dry for some other potential victim.
The courage of conviction has been lacking in Washington for some time. Two decades ago, John Kerry was before the Iraq War before he was against it. Many Republicans went into Trump’s North Korea and Taliban negotiations knowing both were strategically stupid.
Many Democrats may today condemn Trump’s abandonment of Europe, but what really is the difference between what Trump does to Europe and what Biden-era National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan did with his abandonment of Afghans? “It had to come to an end,” Sullivan quipped as Afghans risked their lives to flee the country. Perhaps Democrats will say Afghanistan is not Europe, but that is arguably more a racial judgement than a strategic one.
2028 and the Ukraine Issue
Frankly, it need not be either/or. Abandoning Afghanistan was wrong; so too is abandoning Ukraine. Elections matters, and Trump won handily. But 2028 fast approaches. What the United States will need are leaders, regardless of their parties. Men and women with the courage of their convictions, not cable news analysts who change revise their beliefs as the winds shift. That is not leadership.
Journalists should ask every potential candidate: Those like Governors Josh Shapiro and Gavin Newsom, Senator Mark Kelly, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the Democratic side; Secretary Mike Pompeo, Ambassador Nikki Haley, Governor Brian Kemp and even Secretary Marco Rubio on the Republican side their views now: Are they with Zelensky or against Zelensky, with Putin or against Putin? Or are they the type of person who will perform intellectual somersaults to have it both ways?
Too much is now at stake. The American people and, frankly, the free world deserve insight into their potential leaders’ true beliefs and values rather than the pivots of poll- and focus-driven political consultant creations.
No longer can Washington or the free world afford anyone who was for Ukraine (or Israel or Taiwan) before they were against them.
About the Author: Dr. Michael Rubin
Dr. Michael Rubin is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum. He is also a 19FortyFive Contributing Editor. The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own.
404NotFound
March 1, 2025 at 8:05 am
Narrative straight from Asmodeus himself.
The ‘global media’ like BBC, guardian, CNN, nyt, Reuters, AP, etc falsely and loudly accuse Russia of unprovoked aggression and brazen invasion against the innocent fair maiden state of banderitis Ukraine.
It that’s the big genuine real truth, how would ya describe Israel’s lightning blitzkrieg victorious 6-day war of 1967.
Only Donald trump the maverick president of USA is able to see the truth and separate the grain from the chaff.
To hell with the Ukraine neo-nazis and also their brotherly rabid russophobes in Paris, London and Berlin.
To hell with them.GO TO HELL.
PS: when genocide joe Biden was prez, my comments couldn’t appear. But now, under trump, no problem. PS, who’s the Asmodeus.
angelo
March 1, 2025 at 8:25 am
Trump never forgave Zelensky for not giving Hunter Biden up. He is willing to eradicate a nation for petty vengeance.
RequestBeingVerified
March 1, 2025 at 8:30 am
What president trump must do now is to instruct Elon musk to switch off all starlink comms for Ukrainian armed forces.
Tell the ukranian fascists they can now go to hell for kissing zelenskyy’s stinking backside.
To hell with zelenskyy who’s now behaving like adolfvhitler in December 1944
In Dec 1944, guderian warned Hitler that Soviet forces were amassing big huge massive forces in Poland.
Hitler angrily brushed him off and even had the intelligence officers who presented the information arrested.
What happened then was the massive tidal wave that flowed from Poland straight westward to eastern Germany commonly known as the vistula-oder offensive.
When the offensive ended on Jan 31 1945, Soviet forces were only just 70km away from Berlin.
It’s clear zelenskyy is walking in the footsteps of Herr Hitler.
Romulus Remy
March 1, 2025 at 8:54 am
Zelensky is not wrong to want what he wants: all of Ukraine’s land back, real security guarantees from NATO, reparations. Even the desire for revenge is comprehensible, even natural under the circumstances.
But he can’t get that.
No one will give him the power to get that.
So what’s the point of continuing to demand things he does not have the power to get — to demand things he will never have the power to get?
He can’t even get his own countrymen to agree to lower the age of the draft to include 18-25 year olds.
Was it posturing for the home crowd?
A last, desperate and ill-advised attempt to sway American public opinion?
Swamplaw Yankee
March 1, 2025 at 9:22 am
Yes, the free world + Yankee can not afford those who were for Ukraine than betrayed that position and were against them. Great thought from Rubin.
Now: what to do about it? What would the BIBLE suggest? Anyone ever read that?
Intellectual somersaults: I call them weasel words. Yes, the dark Yankee aquarium has slimey green opaque glass walls. The Yankee knows that the outside world + MSM just can not hear the weasel words emitted deep inside the ceramic castles of the inner beltway.
What has Rubin omitted? Well, many facts.
The Ukrainian survivors know of Betrayal. Ad rem. As any Ukrainian can instantly see, every Yankee author omits to mention that Putin’s Pops was happy killing 20 million Ukrainians in the muscovite elite run genocide called the HOLODOMOR. The talk of compensation from little Putin is so, so very…… absent. The POPs stole the Ukrainians blind, shipped the booty back to Moscow, so little Putin could live in luxury off the avails of Pop’s butchery of Ukrainians.
Then the Simon Petlura era of Independent nation of Ukraine. Never mentioned by Rubin. What murderous orc muscovites were involved in the elimination of Ukrainian freedom and its people. The modern authors just omit that too.
The Middle East is someone’s favourite realm. This fella should mention what the Yankee did in 2013-14. Because he is inside the Yankee aquarium, is he afraid to raise the topic?
The H. Obama coniuratio betrayed the WEST to the cold war enemy, the orc muscovite elite. In 2013 the Yankee unilaterally greenlighted the free, no-cost give-away of the ancient Ukrainian land to the orc muscovite elite. The advantage to the WEST of Ukraine land of Crimea, Donbas, etc was eliminated by the traitors of the WEST, the Yankee. The coniuratio agreed to keep silent their MSM so as to lull their allies of this betrayal. And so, the EU snored away in 2014 the reality of Putin’s joy in the reception of this unilateral Yankee gift.
Putin immediately restored his old family trade. The kidnapping of little Ukrainian children. Yes, the lucrative industry of the Russian people was restored. Kidnapping Ukrainian girls and boys for the money making slave sex trade with the Muslim Ottoman south.
The release and reparation of these slave sex trade victims at 10 million in gold bullion each is never mentioned by the MSM or the Trump cabal. Why?
There is a glib reference to Greece and Cyprus. The flaw. Rubin mentions it to a Yankee audience. The Yankee readership is the same who did zip, zero only to inch their big military hardware close to the Christians being butchered in Smyrna in 1922. The top Yankee brass inched their powerful battleships real close so the ordinary American sailors could clearly hear and watch the Muslim slaughter of Greek, Armenian, Italian and Native Anatolian Christian families. Even Ernest Hemingway was given iced drinks on deck as he watched the butchery of pregnant Christians. He complained of the mothers wailing. Yeah, Ernest rushed from Toronto to catch this epic Muslim display in old Smyrna of the sharp sword edge of Islam.
So, can the western world expect the brave Yankee to help Greece? Maybe the Greek Bookie has the odds out correctly.
It took the emperor of Japan to stop the yellooo belliee Yankees from being brave. The brave Yankee Yellooo Belliee eagerly sat from March 1939, 1940 and 1941 on the side line with his amigo the Mexican. That nasty Japanese emperor stopped that vacation on Dec 7 1941. Was the original Yankee plan to wait it out till 1944 thwarted by that rat of an emperor.
The alert Rubin gives is timely. But, Rubin missed giving the alert to the EU, Ukraine and Israel way back in 2013-14. That Kerry was a weael worder is notable, but this weasel worder ran for President, no problem.
The immediate return of 100% of illegally occupied ancient Ukrainian land must be enforced. Redire ad pristinum terminum. Then, painful examination of reparation and compensation of Ukrainian victims can begin.
Otherwise, as in the article, Yankee hypocites and tripocrites hold sway and control of the depths of the American aquarium.
403Forbidden
March 1, 2025 at 9:38 am
The whole damn world needs to stop tiptoeing around who’s the evil devil nation in europe.
WHO.
Who employed massive heavy firepower against the russian-speakers in donbass region of eastern ukraine. Who.
Who burned alive anti-fascist protesters hiding inside a building in odessa on may 2 2014. Who.
Who enlisted CIA operatives with vast military experience in middle east urban warfare to fight ‘terrorists’ in donbass. Who.
Who whipped up russophobia fever in ukraine, including the banning of russian literature and language. Who.
Who regarded russians as the New Jews. Who started the “Don’t have any russians as friends” mantra. Who.
Feek off, ya stinkin’ dirty russophobes. Feek Off.
One-World-Order
March 1, 2025 at 10:19 am
Now, today, starting March 2015, in response to zelenskyy’s terrible insolence, recalcitrant conduct and neo-nazist leanings (wearing the SS-type sharp-edged motiff), the US together with Russia must insist on the Dnieper being used as the permanent dividing boundary between fascist west Ukraine and free east Ukraine a/k/a donbass.
Donbas has vast rich deposits of vital minerals which Elon musk in the future can start a mining company with the russkies to mine and export them to US.
As for zelenskyy and his euro brothers, send them asap to the realm of the hades ruler !
Jim
March 1, 2025 at 10:43 am
There is a basic conflict between Trump’s position: stop the killing.
And, Zelensky’s position: keep the U. S. assistance going so Ukraine can keep fighting.
Zelensky says he wants “peace,” but what he wants is a victor’s peace, which is the culmination of ‘war aims.”
Trump wants peace, Zelensky wants the war to continue with U. S. backing… wants the Biden policy to continue.
Something’s gotta give… Zelensky and the murderous Banderites have to give way or they will end up in the dust bin of history.
Zelensky wants his war aims fulfilled. It’s not going to happen. It’s strictly a la la land delusion.
There is no betrayal by Trump… the betrayal is from Zelensky because he’s willing to fight to the last Ukrainian… claiming that’s “peace.” Yes, the peace of the grave and the weeping of those left alive.
Zelensky is the traitor to the Ukrianian People along with the Banderites and their hyper-chauvinistic ideology.
Trump wants peace… what do you want Mr. Rubin?
Commentar
March 1, 2025 at 3:46 pm
Ukraine needs a president who’s savvy enough to deal with world’s top leaders, not some rough coarse streetfighter type of character that the stupid dumb zelenskyy apparently is.
Down with stupidity, a disease that rapidly gets worse when things go south.
And zekenskyy is sinking fast. The Ukrainian people deserve somebody not infatuated or bloated with past historical banderite glory and destiny.
Zelenskyy is clearly out of step with the times. As trump said: It is his country that’s in deep shit, not Russia, not US.
Clearly, he’s unthinkingly and recklessly gambling with the lives of millions of people.
How stupid could one become !
pagar
March 1, 2025 at 5:41 pm
Trump must now instruct the US delegation at the UNSC to table a resolution that strongly condemns zelenskyy’s intransigence and total willingness to ignite ww3.
Any state member in the security council which refuses to support it should be slapped with 100% tariffs !
Pete
March 1, 2025 at 10:42 pm
I don’t comment on this website anymore because it’s now overrun by MAGA fan boys. 🤷🏻♂️
Fred Beam
March 2, 2025 at 8:44 am
The people who advised Zelensky during the Biden administration evidently do not understand the Trump administration, MAGA, or the American people.
Zelensky was ill-advised by his own Swamp — and maybe our Swamp, too.
The polling in the US on public sentiment will reflect that . . . to Zelensky’s and Ukraine’s detriment.
Europeans will not do enough to pick up the slack. They should do more. They know they should. They could . . . but they won’t. I’d be delighted, if they proved me wrong but . . . we’ll see.
Sorry, buddy. Ya done effed up.
And if you effed up because your advisors told you “to be strong,” then they need to go.
You need to drain your own Swamp and maybe listen less to ours. They’re on the outs these days, if you haven’t noticed.
CG
March 2, 2025 at 10:39 am
Europe has relied on the US for military to protect Europe. Throughout history and in the last 15 years Europe has been told to strengthen its military and it’s been too little too late. If we want Europe to be strong we need to remove our troops and support, so Europe begins to build a strong military and become self-reliant, then we can work together as equals.
Archibald
March 2, 2025 at 12:04 pm
The only way that Zelensky achieves what he wants is for Ukraine and Europe to increase their level of effort substantially and, in so doing, dare Russia to try to match it.
Thus far, Tsar Vladimir has not wanted to draft Russian boys from Moscow and St. Petersburg — in other words, his political base alongside oligarchs, former KGB, and gangsters. With NATO and a U.S. back-stopped security guarantee off the table and a willingness to discuss a land swap, Putin might struggle to generate the obedience, enthusiasm, and combat power he needs to fully disarm and dominate Ukraine politically, which is his real war aim.
But based on past experience, there is little reason to think that Ukraine or Europe would consider increasing their level of effort enough to demand and enforce better terms.
They could do it but they probably won’t.
It’s not fear of WW3.
It’s simply because Europe has gotten soft and believes there is in nothing more important than its own ease and comfort and Zelensky is less popular than his propagandists make him out to be. If he enjoyed that much popularity, manpower shortages would be less acute and he’d welcome some kind of election.
Jack N.
March 2, 2025 at 12:46 pm
Putin’s trolls are out in force and the MAGA clan can’t get enough. Also, the Russian video that Trump starred in is yielding Putin fantastic dividends. I’ll be happy when Trumps term is finished!
TheDon
March 2, 2025 at 5:26 pm
Zelensky was suppose to sign mineral deal to white house.
Free trade and income to pay for billions in military equipment.
He didn’t sign.
Trumps ticked and it showed.
Fabrice SEGURA
March 3, 2025 at 11:33 am
Trump destroyed Nato, and US credibility, no less.
Now, as european, we have to manage russia by ourselves. And thanks Trump that will help us to achieve the europeean defense we lacked in the last 40 years.
But this comes with two drawbacks. Don’t expect to sell many F35 in europe anymore, and I’ll be happy with my popcorn watching you handling China, because when it will happen, Europe will remember how you were an ally.
Quartermaster
March 3, 2025 at 5:02 pm
It is unfortunate that 19fortyfive is infested with Putin tools.
Trump adn Vance made asses of themselves on the world stage. India and Australia are not reconsidering large purchases of F-35s and Submarines. No one wants to deal with an unreliable ally, and those two have made it obvious that the US has become just that.
The financial cost would run in the billions. The cost of the loss of influence places the US in serious jeopardy in the world.
FG
March 4, 2025 at 11:15 am
Very insightful observation, highlighting America’s role in preventing the annihilation of nations, linking historical and current interventions. It also points out that Trump might not fully understand this critical aspect of U.S. foreign policy.