Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photo: JORGE SILVA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Donald Trump held a photo opportunity with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an effort to bolster his case that he is a respected leader on the world stage who can end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Zelenskyy, who faces a 50 percent chance that Trump will be in a position to starve his government of the weapons it needs to defend its territory, has little choice but to cooperate with Trump’s set piece (especially after having met publicly with Kamala Harris earlier this week).
But Zelenskyy’s humiliation this time included having to stand silent while Trump claimed Vladimir Putin wants to end the war. “He wants it to end, and he wants it to end as quickly as possible. He wants a fair transaction to take place.” Looking at Zelenskyy, Trump said he “wants it to stop, and I’m sure President Putin wants it to stop. And that’s a good combination because we want to have a fair deal for everybody.”
Invoking some undefined fair deal that everybody will love is Trump’s preferred method for bullshitting his way through intractable problems, especially ones on which his own position is politically unpopular. Trump has spent years promising a terrific health-care plan everybody will love. He has likewise pitched an abortion compromise that all sides will adore.
Hawks sometimes overrate the force of “moral clarity” as a diplomatic strategy. The world can be complicated, and sometimes leaders have to gloss over ugly details or compromise their ethics.
But even where moral clarity isn’t always useful, factual clarity is. And the facts of this war are perfectly plain: Russia started the war; the war continues because Russia refuses to leave the territory it illegally seized; unprovoked cross-border invasions are a red-letter violation of international law, and preventing them is the most important basis for maintaining global peace.
Trump has never blamed Putin for the war, though. He continues to describe it like a natural disaster, something that “never should have happened” and whose only identifiable cause was Joe Biden being president. Trump’s talk of a “fair transaction” is not a realistic appraisal of the terms necessary to secure a peace but merely his belief that Putin is naturally entitled to payment as an equal victim of the war.
