In a fiery exchange in the White House yesterday, televised for all the world to see, Trump and his vice-president Vance shredded Zelenskyy, President of the Ukraine. The disrespect started as soon as Zelenskyy walked into the room with a nasty quip from a right-wing journalist about his clothes, and culminated in a shouting match where Vance accused the embattled President of not being grateful for all the US has done for him, shouting over Zelenskyy as he tried to defend himself and his people. Zelenskyy was then thrown unceremoniously out of the White House before the ‘official’ news conference which was then cancelled.
What the debacle proved is that diplomacy in the US is dead. As his abject worship of Putin progresses like a malignant disease, Trump used this meeting with Zelenskyy as an attempt to blame and humiliate the Ukraine for the unprovoked attack against it by the Russians three years ago. This way, no doubt Trump hoped to prove his fealty to his ‘hero’, Putin. That seems to have worked. Russia’s response was immediate and thoroughly approving.
However, two other things were achieved today that Trump may not have intended. First, Europe finally finished waking up to the fact that the Atlantic Alliance which has stood since the end of World War Two is dead. They are on their own without the protection of the American military, and must rapidly and urgently rebuild their own in readiness for the attack that will come from Russia sooner rather than later. To their credit, all European countries but Hungary stood firm with the Ukraine, reiterating their commitment to support the Ukraine in any way they can. This promise is much more meaningful now than it was even two days ago, because now Europe risks the ire of the biggest military and economic presence in the world. Trump will not take kindly that Europe has chosen to stand with the Ukraine. His first response is likely to be to try to crush Europe economically by bringing down upon them his threatened tariffs, possibly increasing those tariffs beyond what he has already threatened. Just as bad, he is likely to take the billions of dollars the US is still pouring into the Ukraine in terms of military armaments and equipment plus financial support, and give it to the Russians instead. This will significantly increase the likelihood the Russians will be able to crush the Ukraine and advance into Europe, rebuilding their own old Soviet empire as Putin has wanted to do for so long.
The other thing Trump achieved is the proof that the US is now concerned only for itself and its autocratic friends. This increases the empire building that he has already begun, now openly handing Europe to Russia after covertly handing the South Pacific to China. We can expect to see the billions of dollars that once poured out of the US in aid diverted to more military ventures such as the takeover of Greenland, Panama and, eventually Canada once he has brought that country to it economic knees. That too might speed up with increased tariffs as Canada stood firmly with the Ukraine yesterday.
Gloomy as all this might sound, three good things came out of the debacle. First, Europe is now actively looking to itself to supply a new leader of the free world since the US has opted out of that role. By standing firm in solidarity with the beleaguered Ukraine, risking the ire of the most powerful nation in earth quite capable of severely punishing them in multiple ways, they have shown a backbone many thought had long been lost. Even populist Meloni stood with her European colleagues against Trump today in a rare show of solidarity. This should bring a new kind of unity and moral strength to the failing West that might just save what is best about it.
The second good thing to come out of yesterday’s blatant exhibition of American bullying is that the Democrats banded together in a new show of unity and strength. Their deep embarrassment at Trump and Vance’s horrific behaviour may be a rallying point around which they can show, and grow, their strength. Individual responses aside, the Democratic Party’s response to Trump has been lacklustre, to say the least. But today there was a unified outpouring of disgust. If they can hold onto that, the Democratic Party might begin to rebuild much faster and more decisively than it was doing.
The third, and possibly best thing that arose from yesterday’s debacle, is that there is no longer any doubt about whether Trump is just posturing in his support for his autocratic friends and his despising of his former allies or whether this is a temporary aberration that will wear off. It is now utterly clear that the old alliances are broken beyond repair, and that the free world must rapidly create new ones to stand against the new Triumvirate of Evil: Russia, China and the USA. While at first glance that may not seem such a positive, it sweeps aside the uncertainty that was hobbling the response of much of the world, and allows Europe, Canada, Mexico and other nations to move ahead decisively to protect their countries, their people and their values. Trump may be facilitating the formation of a triumvirate of superpower empires that will attempt to subjugate the rest of the world in short order, but he just gave the first intended group of victims a huge heads-up today. He may just find that was a very big mistake.
(27 February, 2025)
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