Friends,
By Robert Reich — via Substack
Friends,
“Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine,” Trump told reporters Monday. “They haven’t been doing much,” he said — ignoring the Russian missiles and drones that have been targeting Kyiv in one of the worst bombardments of the war. By contrast, Trump said, “We’ve given a lot to Ukraine. They’ve given nothing to us.”
In the last week, he or Musk (or both) have slowed or eliminated Ukraine’s access to Starlink satellite intelligence, leaving Ukraine without warning of Russian bombs. He’s pushed for Ukraine’s capitulation. He’s said Ukraine needs a “new president.”
Meanwhile, Trump has lifted sanctions on the sale of Russian oil on the global market. He has made a deal for the U.S. to buy Russian diesel. On Friday, Trump decided against imposing additional sanctions against Russia that Congress authorized in the Lindsey Graham Act, two days before the sanctions were to go into effect. Trump has also invited Putin to attend the G20 summit in Miami in December. And Trump has accepted Putin’s invitation to a three-way summit with Xi to decide Ukraine’s fate.
What are we to make of this? Why is he apparently selling out Ukraine? I’ve asked a number of Trump-watchers and Russian experts and grouped their responses below. Please choose the explanation that makes the most sense to you.