Staff Reports
Donald Trump has once again stirred the pot, sending shockwaves through the globe with his latest comments on the ongoing war in Ukraine. In a classic display of his direct and unapologetic style, Trump turned his attention to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who expressed disappointment at not being included in negotiations between Russia and the United States in Saudi Arabia. Apparently, Zelensky believes he deserves a seat at the table despite the fact that Ukraine has been embroiled in this conflict for over three years.
While discussing the situation from his Mar-a-Lago stronghold, Trump suggested that Ukraine could have done a better job in preventing the invasion. He claimed, somewhat unfazed by the facts on the ground, that if Ukraine had played its cards right, they could have struck a deal that kept both the land and people intact. This cavalier spin from Trump shines a significantly bright light on his belief that negotiation might have prevented the war, painting him as a self-styled diplomatic savant who can save the day with a simple handshake and a few well-placed words.
You should have never started it, you could have made a deal” Trump to Zelenskyy
Mr Trump's comments came after senior US and Russian diplomats met in Saudi Arabia for the first time in many years, to discuss ending the war. Ukraine and European nations were not represented at…
— PROJECT 2025🇺🇸 (@lilgreat21) February 19, 2025
In contrast, reality reflects that Russia had little motivation for compromise, with Vladimir Putin showing outright disdain for weak warning gestures from the current administration. The crux of the issue lies in the aggressive posture taken by both Obama and Biden with respect to NATO, which laid a red carpet for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine back in 2014 and beyond. In a surprising twist, Russian officials seem to be nodding in approval at Trump’s comments, with one foreign minister suggesting that Trump’s take on the situation sheds light on the very foundations of the conflict.
Let’s not ignore the fact that the situation is complex, and while one can appreciate Trump’s approach, it crosses into dangerous territory when he claims that Zelenskyy’s popularity is negligible. It’s almost like claiming the sky is green while everyone around him argues that it’s blue—Zelensky has a significant approval rating among his people, with recent polls indicating about 57% of Ukrainians affirming their support. So, one has to wonder if Trump is operating in a dimension where facts are optional.
When pressed about Zelensky’s insistence on Ukraine’s need to be part of the peace negotiations, Trump maintained that talking too much might just complicate the matter further. The art of negotiation, as Trump sees it, involves trimming the guest list to avoid confusion and drama. Yet the irony hits hard when one considers that negotiations without the primary party in conflict might just lead to outcomes that don’t take the interests of Ukraine into account.
In the grand scheme of things, this back-and-forth makes for a lively spectacle in political discourse, where claims and counterclaims portray a landscape filled with intrigue and confusion. As Trump throws out his interpretations of geopolitics like confetti, one can’t help but wonder if these moves are part of a broader strategy or simply bombastic sound bites meant to rattle cages and galvanize support from his base. After all, the real reason behind all the rhetoric is likely to stay politically relevant, with both sides of the aisle debating how best to approach a deeply complicated issue that could go on indefinitely without genuine resolution.
