Don't Let Them Forget
Trump is going to betray Ukraine. His supporters should be made to feel the guilt.
Today is the 3 year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Unlike 2022, though, there’s a different group of people occupying the White House with a very different approach to foreign policy than the previous administration.
When this war started, America understood which side it was on, and not just the Democratic party - the majority of Republican officials did too. Now, the American leadership and the Republican party once again understands which side it’s on - that side has just switched from what it originally was.
Last week, Trump commented on his negotiations with Russia for a peace appeasement deal over Ukraine that “Zelensky had better move fast, or he’s not going to have a country anymore.” This in the wake of Vice President Vance and Sec. Def. Pete Hegseth spending their time at the Munich1 Security Conference telling our former European allies that they’re on their own when it comes to defending their countries against Russia.
The message is pretty clear. If Putin decides he wants to invade another country like Estonia or Finland, Article 5 of NATO is a dead letter. America isn’t coming to help.
America Authoritarians First
An important thing to understand is that the Trump version of “America First” is not actually one of an isolationist “We’re just going to focus only on our problems here at home” attitude, although that is how his supporters will often talk about it when gutting things like foreign aid. The actual Trump 2.0 view of foreign policy can be more accurately be described as one of spheres of influence with each major world power reigning over it’s respective sphere as a predatory power.
In the Trumpian worldview, America, Russia, and China each have their own “spheres of influence” which they maraude for riches and power while leaving the other powers alone in theirs. America lets Putin do whatever he wants in Europe, and China is free to mess with Taiwan and other Pacific nations, while the United States gets to harass countries like Canada and Panama on our side of the oceans. It is one in which the tyrannical powers let each other be tyrannical powers in their own geographical areas without attempting to undermine each other, not unlike the Axis agreement between Germany and Japan.
Don’t Let Them Get Away With It
If Trump and the Muskovites are going to sell out Ukraine, the very least we can do is make people own it.
Display Signs of Protest
This month, I’ve started to wear my Ukrainian flag pin whenever I’m out in public - at work, to the store, at the bar, etc. Later today, I’m setting up a flagpole holder at my house so that I can start flying my “We Stand With Ukraine” flag again. Signs are important. Part of why the Republicans elected officials are able to get away with abandoning Ukraine is because they think people don’t care any more. And to a degree, they’re right. Most Americans have quite frankly stopping thinking much about Ukraine. Put the issue back in their faces again.
Don’t Let Them Make Excuses
One of the most successful influence campaigns the Russians have done is convincing Americans that it’s actually Ukraine who is the bad guy here. Whether its devoted Putin-fanboys like Tucker Carlson promoting the Kremlin talking points or willfully ignorant dudebro podcasters who just say stuff, there’s been a noticeable shift in attitudes toward Ukraine, ranging from the apathetic “Why should I care about what happens to some country I’ve never heard of” to the victim-blaming “Well, if they hadn’t been so suspicious of Russia in the first place” to the conspiratorial “This is all just a money-making scheme for Zelensky” type of stuff. The Kremlin/Musk/MAGA media environment has carved out a space in the American psyche that makes it easier for Trump to throw Ukraine under the tank treads without significant backlash.
The misinformation and lies that are being pushed about Ukraine are too numerous to go over here2. It’s a little bit like fighting a hydra. You strike down one false narrative in conversation with someone, and they come back with even more bad faith takes that they heard somewhere on the Internet or Fox News.
At the end of the day, though, one of the things that I’ve discovered is that deep down, most of these people know that Putin is a villain. It’s why they have to keep reaching for arguments against Ukraine, because they don’t feel comfortable making arguments for Russia.
And so, maybe instead of trying to keep batting down all the batshit crazy things people say when you talk about Ukraine with them (a difficult thing to keep up with unless you really follow the stuff), you should just start asking them questions.
Questions like:
If America shows it’s not willing to help Ukraine defend itself, do you think that China will seriously think we’re willing to defend out allies in the Pacific? I hope you like tech products and cars getting way more expensive if President Xi decides to invade Taiwan and we lose access to cheap semi-conductor chips.
Let’s say Ukraine just gives Russia the territory it already holds, and there are no enforceable security guarantees in return. What’s going to stop Putin from coming back a year or two later to take the rest of the country?
If the US just lets Putin take over Ukraine, do you think he’s going to stop there? What about Finland? Or Poland? I don’t think things ended well the last time America just let a guy like this run around Europe taking whatever he wanted.
Does giving Russia what it wants with nothing of substance in return make America look strong? Or does it make us look weak?
Are we just friends with the bad guys now?
Ultimately, I can’t guarantee this is going to change people’s hearts and minds. But if you put them on the spot, and make them answer these questions, at least they don’t have plausible deniability about whose side they’re on. Make them own their position, instead of making excuses. And when the bad things happen later, make sure to make them feel ashamed of it.
Stand in the (Financial) Gap
Last week, I wrote about the importance of individuals stepping up to help with funding important causes as DOGE continues to hack and slash its way through foreign aid. Ukraine will be one of the countries hardest hit by the betrayal of the American government, but that does not mean it needs to be betrayed by the American people as well.
As we close out this month, should your own funds allow it, consider contributing to one of the organizations working to help restore some sense of normalcy to the lives of these people. A favorite of mind is the Voices of Children Foundation in Ukraine, which offers mental health services to children and families whose lives have been uprooted by this conflict. They’ve been active since Russia’s first invasion of the country back in 2014, a reminder that any “peace” deal is meaningless without real security guarantees - otherwise Putin will just come back later to finish what he started.
The English version website for Voices of Children can be reached here: https://voices.org.ua/en
I seem to remember another Munich conference involving appeasement. I’m sure that Vance would rather have us not see the parallels. Or maybe he would. He is such a fanboy of the AfD after all….
One common false narrative that is worth addressing is that the US is “just sending planes full of money to Ukraine.” That’s not how military aide works. We give them our old weapons, and then use that money to buy new weapons for our own military, supporting a bunch of American manufacturing jobs in places like Virginia and Texas, while modernizing out weapons capability at the same time.