The “Ukrainian card” has become one of the most important in the US election race, so Donald Trump’s team did not miss the opportunity to use the war for ratings. And the recent attacks by some Republicans on Volodymyr Zelenskyy show not so much the incompetence of Ukrainian diplomacy, which is already balancing on a shoestring, but rather the escalation of the election saga.
A decade ago, it would have seemed fantastic to Ukrainians to imagine a subjectivity where American Republicans would be offended if they were not invited to join the delegation during the Ukrainian president’s visit to a plant in the United States. It would be an incredible story that the US leader would be impeached for allegedly putting pressure on the Ukrainian president, as happened in 2019. But no country in the world would really want such subjectivity in the situation we are in.
This week, Trump’s controversial and rather opaque policy toward Ukraine has once again mixed up the cards among those trying to answer the question: “Is Trump really against Ukraine or is he just pretending?”
Trump’s recent statements about “millennia-old destroyed cities,” that “Ukraine is gone” and “all the money in the world will not be enough to rebuild” and so on show that the Republican leader does not understand many aspects of the Russian-Ukrainian war. And his demands to “make a deal,” which in reality mean a frozen conflict without victory, in the form of a deceptive “peace in exchange for territories” offer, dispel hopes for ordinary election populism. So far, there is no indication that after his victory, Trump might make a 180-degree turn in his attitude toward supporting Ukraine and begin to help decisively.
But the personal meeting with Zelensky, whose communiqué ended with general phrases about peace and shaking hands, has re-actualized the arguments of those who claim that by criticizing aid to Ukraine, Trump is only attacking the Democratic administration’s ratings. Trump is now making statements that he would never have allowed as president, but he hopes that with these words he will play on the mood of the American plebs and win the election. Then, in his potential presidency, Trump would have to give up his eccentric actions and follow the established course of US foreign policy. Many institutions of the system of checks and balances in the US political apparatus force every leader to be balanced and take into account the opinions of other important players.
After all, if not Trump himself, then the Republican leaders and sponsors and senior officials who do all the major management work are aware of how American partners and allies will react if the United States abandons tomorrow the country it has supported for three years and called an ally. What would Israel, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and eventually Europe say and do? The answer is obvious: they will start building their own nuclear weapons or strengthening their existing nuclear capabilities. Trump will not be allowed to destroy the foundations of the world order and turn the United States into an isolated Elysium, which abandoned its allies to Russia, Iran, and China and won decades of peace until they came for Alaska and Hawaii. So far, the United States has never seen a change of president refuse to support an ally it has supported for years.
Donald Trump continues to maintain intrigue about his own position in support of Ukraine. His election strategy is based on this: to attract votes from both opponents and supporters of Ukraine. And after his likely victory, the owner of the White House will do what is in the interests of preserving the image of the United States.
Author: Valeriy Maydanyuk