Whose side are we on? Trump’s Ukraine policy is baffling
I've tracked foreign policy shifts for years, and this one feels different. The U.S. spent a decade arming Ukraine, coordinating sanctions, and making public commitments to Kyiv's sovereignty. To reverse course so abruptly, without a clear public explanation of what changed on the ground, invites suspicion.
That said, there's a plausible case for pushing negotiations: the war is costly, casualties are mounting, and American voters are weary. A president who campaigned on ending entanglements might reasonably seek a brokered settlement, even an imperfect one. But the real test is whether Moscow is giving up anything meaningful.
If the White House is pressing Zelensky publicly while offering security guarantees privately, that's one thing. If Kyiv is being left to fend for itself, that's another. I'd want to know what Ukraine's leaders have been told behind closed doors. Until then, I'll hold judgment, but the optics are poor and the stakes are enormous.