Passing The Smell Test

I don't mean to be picky but what's with Donald Trump's affection for dictators and bad dudes?  Serious, he gets off the phone following a call to Vladimir Putin and almost instantaneously fawning over the Russian autocrat.  And then it bleeds-over to the war in Ukraine; that Russia started.

Recently Mr. Trump told Newsmax that Zelensky is "not a good guy for us to deal with" and "more difficult" than Putin.

Then he goes off running at the mouth and exaggerating the amount of aid the U.S. has given to Ukraine.  Factually, it is more like $195 billion, not $350 billion, with much of it going directly to U.S. defense contractors.

Mr. Trump also claimed that the U.S. had provided "massive amounts" of Tomahawks to Ukraine, therefore depleting our own arsenal.  The Pentagon has provided no such cruise missiles.

Add it all up and it smells bad.  

Putin Trump - photo Japan Times

So what is the explanation for Mr. Trump's affection for a Russian war criminal?  There are all sorts of wild conspiracy theories about Trump being a Russian plant or sympathizer.  Or that Putin has dirt on Trump that has compromised him.  

President Zelensky has a simple and compelling theory; and like Occam's Razor suggests that the explanation that requires the fewest assumptions is usually best.  Zelensky believes that Trump has a fondness for totalitarian authority and wealthy individuals. He speaks about it openly and is likely a wee bit envious of Putin's station in life.  Trump has likely padded his balance sheet since the start of his second term by roughly $2 billion.  That pales by comparison with Putin's estimated $70 to $200 billion; but it's a start.  Besides, the master manipulator has been in power much longer.

Anyway, Trump's willingness to do the former Soviet Intelligence officer's bidding is troubling.  Hopefully, Europe's willingness to step-up and fill the void will save Ukrainian civilian lives.  Having fallen under Putin's thrall I'm not entirely convinced Trump is an honest broker in bringing this war to an end.  It doesn't pass the smell test.  And more women and children will die as a consequence.

Drama At The Oval

Last Friday's Oval Office meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky was ostensibly intended to discuss peace negotiations concerning the Russia-Ukraine conflict and to finalize a natural resources agreement.  However the meeting devolved into a heated exchange with Trump accusing Zelensky of being ungrateful and risking global conflict by not pursuing peace with Russia.  Vice President JD Vance criticized Zelensky for discussing policy matter publicly, leading to an abrupt end to the meeting without a signed agreement.  

Naturally, the incident drew significant attention both here and abroad with numerous world leaders expressing support for Zelensky and criticizing President Trump's approach.  Leaders from countries such as Canada, Norway, Lithuania, Poland, Spain and Moldova condemned Trump's remarks and reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Ukraine against Russia's invasion.  

Given the contentious nature of the meeting, the choreographed timing of Vance's entry into the fray gives the appearance of not merely a theatrical performance, but a planned public setup.  The first thing that came to mind was the boardroom scene of the Final Episode following another lame season of The Apprentice.  I digress.

The lack of any substantive outcomes and subsequent international reaction seems to imply that the meeting had significant implications beyond just the political theater.  Precisely what they are remains to be revealed.  Is Trump ten moves ahead in a three dimensional chess match; or is he simply chaotic?  You pick.

Nonetheless, I sort of saw it coming; like a slow moving train wreck.  There were earlier signals from Secretary Hegseth,  the US joining both North Korea and Russia in the vote at the United Nations (China abstained), along with Trump's parroting of Kremlin talking points.  I shared with a couple of pals that I figured Trump was going to orchestrate things in a way that Putin would get the whole shebang in the end.  Time will tell.

Does this suggest we've signaled to the world that we're done with 70+ years of transatlantic alliances; trading all of it for an alliance with a ruthless blood-soaked gangster like Vladimir Putin and his rapidly failing Russian state?

Or was this a garden-variety Mafiosi protection racket?  Listen-up youse.  Give us your raw earth minerals, or your dry-cleaning shop, izza gonna burn down, see.

Why does Trump have a hard-on for Putin? 

Why isn't Putin being held to account?

Does Zelensky understand a bad deal is better than a good war?

Judging from the reaction in the cesspool called Face Book, the base is loving the red meat.  Of course the base has also turned a blind eye, or loves, (you pick) the forcible abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.  Similarly, supporters of Ukraine were quick to post their own collection of cut and paste unoriginal memes.  Although I didn't note anyone volunteering to send their children or grandchildren over there to join the fight.

It's too soon and uncertain to know where this takes us.  Although for the first time this year I watched all the Sunday morning talking heads on both sides as White House spokespeople twisted them selves in convoluted knots in an attempt to explain this is ten moves ahead three dimensional chess and not simply chaos.

What I've learned over the years is that Trump means what he says and he closed the Friday drama with this:

This is going to be great television.  I will say that.

 

Thanks for reading and stay-tuned. Hardly a dull moment nowadays.