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What we witnessed today in Alaska [ [link removed] ], not surprisingly, was nothing short of despicable. Donald Trump rolled out a literal red carpet for Vladimir Putin, an international pariah responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent Ukrainians, the near-destruction of several urban centers, and the destabilization of an entire region. And Trump, in his usual fashion, bent over backwards to please his Russian idol, clapping like a four-year-old on Christmas morning at the sight of Putin on the tarmac.
This “summit” was never about peace. Like everything with Trump, it was a spectacle meant to make Trump look important while playing footsie with Putin and shamelessly hustling for a Nobel Peace Prize. The show was all the more disgraceful by contrast with Trump’s obscene Feb. 28th meeting [ [link removed] ] with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. You could feel the betrayal deepening today as Trump smilingly shook the hands of a dictator—hands with blood all over them.
Trump is a useful idiot, a ridiculous fool on the world stage, a puppet whose strings are being pulled by a man who wants nothing more than to watch America burn. And while he may not be paid by Moscow for his “services,” Trump is no less a Russian asset. The supposedly great dealmaker left with nothing from this ultimately overhyped meeting, save for giving a hero’s welcome to a war criminal on American soil.
How any American can look at that scene and not feel their stomach roll is beyond me. To be clear, this wasn’t diplomacy; it was a display of weakness and appeasement. Ukraine has been fighting for its very survival for more than three years, defending its sovereignty against Putin’s brutal invasion. In the midst of that struggle, what did Trump do? He grinned. And he fawned all over the man single-handedly responsible for all this death and destruction.
What message does that send to the world? It sends the message that the United States, under this fool of a president, doesn’t give a damn about the people of Ukraine. It sends the message that any murderous dictator can get away with whatever they want. As long as they say the right things to and about their buddy Trump, there will be no consequences. And it sends the message—again—that Trump values his own ego, his own neurotic need for validation, over the lives of innocent people being slaughtered half a world away.
I feel for the people of Ukraine. They’ve been fighting this war alone, for the most part. They’ve been out there on the front lines not only for their own freedom, but for the very concept of freedom, which we shamefully take for granted. They’ve been fighting for their right to exist as a sovereign, fully intact nation while MAGA Americans and the President of the United States mock their struggle and complain about the costs.
I’m sorry, Ukraine. I’m sorry you’re stuck with this buffoon in the White House. I’m sorry that he’s not on your side. I’m sorry that he’s not standing up to the dictator who’s waging war on your people.
But most Americans? We see what’s happening. We know the truth. We know that Ukraine’s struggle is our struggle, and we know that Putin is the real enemy. It’s up to the rest of us—the ones who still care about democracy, about freedom, about true peace—to make sure that the world hears us.
So tonight, here’s to Ukraine. You are not alone, even if the idiot in the White House would like you to think you are. Most Americans stand with you, and we always will.
Slava Ukraini!
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