In 2022, I argued that the Russia-Ukrainian war is the shared responsibility of Biden’s regime and its allies, and Putin. The war entered its fourth year, and recent dramatic events have provided plenty to assess this opinion.
Not surprisingly, the stances on the Trump-Zelenskyy clash in the White House a week ago are highly polarized. Most Americans stay behind their president, while the opposition sees it as fuel for their war with Trump. In Europe – the major political players seem supportive of the blowout of the US-Ukraine minerals deal, and the prevailing public reaction is anti-American and pro-Zelenskyy.
Why do Americans and Europeans see this issue differently? Cultural differences on both sides of the Atlantic play a role, but it seems that the two sides are assessing different sets of information and thus arriving at different conclusions. Does this have anything to do with JD Vance’s recent speech in Munich raising concerns about Europe’s retreat from free speech, or are Americans simply succumbing to Russian propaganda?
In Europe, Ukraine is the number one political topic. Russia is condemned as an aggressor who must be punished. Discussing a broader context of the conflict is not allowed under the pretext of fighting “Russian disinformation.” Critical views on the financial aid to Ukraine are deemed a sign of bad taste, and Zelenskyy (especially after the fiasco in Washington last week) is glorified as “The True Leader of the Free World.”
In the US, though, the Russia-Ukrainian war is not a leading topic. Americans are still experiencing the epic 2024 presidential battle, which many consider a turning point for the nation’s future. The majority of Americans believe that their country has just been saved from the most significant threat in its entire history, and Donald Trump is the symbol of that battle. Everything else, including international crises such as Ukraine’s, is assessed within the current context of American domestic politics.
Americans’ view of Ukraine was initially shaped by Hunter Biden’s Burisma revelations on the eve of the 2020 election. They saw it as the tip of the iceberg of massive political corruption in the former Soviet republic. The clip showing then vice-president Biden bragging about firing the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating Burisma became a hit on social media.
Later, Trump’s call to Zelenskyy aiming to prove Bidens’ Ukrainian corruption ties was used as a pretext for Trump’s first impeachment. Long before the current freeze on USAID foreign aid, Americans were aware of the agency’s generous funding of Ukrainian NGOs for more than a decade. Thus, well before the war, the controversial Ukrainian topic was already negatively perceived as part of the Obama-Biden foreign policy legacy. Unlike Europe, Americans were wondering why there were no diplomatic efforts and negotiations for peace in Ukraine and when the war would finally be over.
In fact, there have been peace negotiating efforts. On March 16, 2022, three weeks after Putin’s invasion, the Financial Times reported on the progress of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Both sides accepted Ukraine’s military neutrality and renunciation of its future NATO membership. It seemed like a timid hope that the bloodshed would soon stop. Only a few hours later, the hope disappeared. In response to a journalist’s question, President Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin a “war criminal“. The next day, Secretary of State Blinken repeated the exact phrase. Shortly thereafter, reports from the negotiation process have already spoken of a “very large gap” in the positions of both sides.
Biden’s regime needed the “Russia” narrative alive to keep Donald Trump away from the White House and as an excuse for all its failures. The billions from the Biden administration kept pouring in. Zelenskyy did not oppose, remained loyal, and even went on a campaign tour with Biden’s successor, Harris, in Pennsylvania two years later, clearly showing who his people in Washington are.
The following peace talk happened … three years later when Trump returned to office. After first agreeing to the deal with the US, Zelenskyy blew it up, insisting on “more guarantees” and condemnation of Putin – just as Biden “bravely” did three years earlier. Zelenskyy’s “old friends” in Washington (he met with Democratic senators just before the meeting with Trump) were extremely happy – as the resurrected anti-Trump “Russia” hoax is the only political weapon they currently have.
I don’t quite understand the logic of the anti-Trump warmongers. What are they up for? End of war, stop the killings, rebuilding Ukraine? None of the above because Trump made the call? Now, they revile Trump for not agreeing to do more of the same. Instead of accepting Trump’s proposals for NATO and Europe’s defense spending eight years ago, European leaders chose to hug Biden and together fight … climate change and gender inequality. Did they expect this would deter Putin?
Today, the European Trump haters are very disappointed. There is no surprise – living in the bubble of half-truths and wishful thinking could not lead to any good, waking up is painful, and there is no free lunch. By attacking the American President, they attack the people who pay the bill to keep Ukraine alive. Why does no one dare to launch rockets and drones at North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, who entered the war by helping Putin with troops on the ground? Right – he is a madman and can strike back with nukes. Why do you think the Russian dictator will abstain? Do you trust Putin?
A week ago, Trump and Vance did not just scold an actor who screwed the role. They confronted the entire phony political status quo and its shady policies, endless wars, wasteful government spending, useless “professional politicians”, and sneaky “diplomacy.” That’s why the American political establishment hates Trump – he proved them needless. The same reason is behind the unholy alliance of American democrats and the European political class – regardless of color.
The Trump train is coming, and they are trying to stop it – at all costs. The globalist political elites on both sides of the Atlantic are at war for their survival.
In this war, Ukraine is just collateral damage.
