Listening to Trump blabber about Ukraine is unbearable
The dead-end triangle of Ukraine-Russia-Trump explained in a 24-second video
BY MICHAEL ANDERSEN
Yesterday, I stumbled upon this video clip from only 14 months ago – when we naively still believed that Donald Trump was ‘there,’ meaning both mentally and politically agile enough to play a role in stopping the war in Ukraine.
Trump’s words in this 24-second clip from the infamous assault on Ukraine’s president 28 February 2025 in the Oval Office are even more striking when watched today.
Because it tells you in detail why Trump and the US would never be able to stop the war, or engage with the Ukrainians or, indeed, the Europeans, on this issue. And why we were oh-so-naïve ever hoping.
Just watch the face and the expressions of the Ukrainian president. ‘What planet are you from, buddy?’
Since then, it has gradually become clear that Trump simply has his own very distinct prism through which he sees the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
And morals, international law and democracy play no role in his ‘analysis.’
For Trump, Ukraine is simply an irritant, standing in the way of normalizing relations with Russia, getting back to business as usual.
The US president does not understand the hatred, as he so correctly points out in the video, that President Zelensky and the Ukrainians have for the Russian dictator, and for Russians.
But, says Trump, “the other side (Putin) isn’t exactly in love with him (Zelensky) either.” And this is the crux of the matter.
Because, in Donald Trump’s mind, Putin has not done much wrong - “not really”. As Trump once said, after a particularly viscous bombing of a children’s playground in Ukraine, Putin is “only doing what anybody else would do.” (Who has a smaller neighbor.)
Let me add that at that particular attack, the Russians conducted what is called “a double tap” – meaning that you bomb the playground in two rounds; once to kill and maim the children playing there, and the second time a few minutes later when parents and first responders have rushed to the murder scene, so you can also kill them. 20 people were killed, among them nine children, 75 people were injured.
Trump admires Putin for ruling with an iron fist – meaning that he is corrupt, above the law, has annihilated all opposition, that his critics on a regular basis fall out of windows or drink poisoned tea.
(It is not my job to warn Americans of what is in stall for them, but…)
Trump never tires of repeating that “it takes two to tango” – meaning that to Trump this is a conflict where both sides are to blame.
In fact, Trump has several times accused Ukraine of having started the conflict – “You don't start a war against someone 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles”. Despite the fact that we all watched Putin on TV in the morning of 24 February 2022 openly declare that he had ordered Russian troops to cross the border into Ukraine.
Russia’s 100%-unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has cost hundreds of thousands of killed, wounded, raped and tortured, millions of Ukrainians have fled their homes.
But – nevetheless - the US president blames Zelensky and the Ukrainians for hating Putin and the Russians for that.
Trump and his VP Sha-Dy Vance have, again and again, suggested that the natural thing would be that Zelensky simply signs over to Russia the 20% of Ukraine that Putin has occupied, and promises to never become a part of the West, of NATO, to declare neutrality, i.e. become a Russian vasal.
Sha-Dy Vance has directly said that he is proud of having cut off Ukraine from any further US financial or military support.
Imagine that for a second: You are such a person that you stand up in front of the world boasting about having cut off help to a country where - each night for four years - innocent people have been killed by Russian bombs while they are sleeping in their beds.
Just imagine being this kind of person. And then remember – if you have any interest in justice for Ukraine, or, indeed, European security – that there is a rather good chance that this person will be the next president of the U.S.A.
This lack of empathy, knowledge and brains is exactly why the Trump administration can never be a part of the solution – because Trump and Vance are a major part of the problem.
If you are Ukrainian or European, the conclusion can only be:
We must stop listening to Trump on Ukraine. The Ukrainians already have, actually. Although President Zelensky cannot say it out loud for strange ‘diplomatic reasons” – Ukraine’s European partners are regularly begging him not to shame Trump and Vance in public. Something that the Ukrainian leader struggles more and more with, that much is evident.
We Europeans should stop embarrassing ourselves and make a clear break: Last week, German Chancellor Merz talked openly about how Trump has been humiliated in Iran.
Next, I would like the Chancellor to tell Trump to stop blabbering and lying about Ukraine: ‘Donald, if you are not willing to help and pay (and you don’t understand the conflict), at least, just butt out and shut up’ kind of thing, please Friedrich.
We owe that not just to the Ukrainians. We also owe it to our continent, our civilization and our children and grandchildren. And our self-respect.
Listening to Donald Trump on Ukraine truly is unbearable.
Quite frankly listening to Trump, or Nutlick or Vance or Hegseth et al, speak on anything is unbearable. And they have much too much to say about everything all the time. Plus the legacy media provide them much too much prominence all the time and most of the time without providing any context or live fact checking. I usually in the past had the habit of watching BBC World News especially early evening, but Trump and his sycophants are so often featured that I find myself increasingly immediatley switching off or to an alternative channel. I read somewhere someone had suggested that the news should be broadcast, excluding Trump and his regime and their lies, and following the news there should be a segment 'And this is what Trump said".
Rump and his enablers were never going to help 100%. They were only out to make money however they could. When it appeared the money was not in Ukraine they betrayed you. We didn’t, the government did and we’ve been angry and frustrated since. Personally I am so amazed at what you have accomplished in saving your country. His two sides garbage is so he doesn’t have to accept the blame for his behavior. That White House meeting showed the world what a phony he and Vance are. I just pray we can get a decent government in place to help put an end to your invasion before it’s too late. Thank you for keeping us informed with the truth. It’s getting harder to find but Substack helps.