One month into Trump's second term as president, there doesn't seem to be an apple cart in sight that Trump and his allies can't tip over and then toss down a hill.
A few days after Vice President JD Vance alarmed and upset the U.S.' European allies with some blunt criticism at a security conference in Germany, Trump himself took the leading role in redefining the nation's relationship with long-time adversary Russia.
Trump agreed to talks with Russia over the fate of Ukraine while freezing out the Ukrainian government and NATO from the meeting in Saudi Arabia. He slammed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for being a "dictator" and blamed him for starting the war with Russia three years ago.
(Note: Russia invaded Ukraine, not the other way around, in February 2022.)
None of this should have come as a surprise to anyone who was listening to Trump during the 2024 campaign, but the week proved that some of Europe's worst fears about its place in the new administration's firmament were likely justified.
Trump appears intent on forging a new dynamic with Russia that at least gives the outside impression that he views President Vladimir Putin as a potential partner for divvying up the world's resources.
Democrats in Washington were outraged that the U.S. was turning its back on Ukraine. And U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, a Republican like Trump, was not pleased, saying Putin could not be trusted.
"Putin is a war criminal," Wicker told CNN.
No comments: