It’s hard to explain, much less justify, the flirtation of the American right with Putin. It’s said that there are “Chamberlains in every generation,” but it’s a dark moment when that naivety comes from an American President. It’s easy to riff on Trump and his catalogue of shortcomings. It makes for tepid reading. The risks of his inanity are now, however, existential.
Trump’s baloney directly imperils Europe. Meanwhile, Starmer buffers like a plastic bag, pledging 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence “shortly,” 3 per cent “eventually,” then 2.7 per cent “soon.” The Macrons, hauled unceremoniously to the headmaster’s office in Washington, complained mostly about champagne tariffs.
America’s European policy beggars belief. US diplomats vetoed a UN resolution that condemned Putin’s invasion. Verbose when it comes to blaming Zelenskyy, Trump’s pressmen go mute when asked about the original invasion. Freshly in play, the German Chancellor Mr Merz warned that Washington was now “indifferent to the fate of Europe.”
Worst of all, Putin’s apologists crop up in unlikely places. Trying to keep the transatlantic peace, Russophilic noise from some European politicians might well amount, said Mr O’Brien on LBC in a rare moment of sound mind, to “treason.” Concerns that we “poked the Russian bear,” presumably by failing to congratulate Putin when he annexed Crimea, don’t convince.
Some hope that Trump, in endearing himself to the Kremlin, plans to poison their relations with China. The CCP menaces the South China Sea and vulnerable economies further afield. Its nuclear capacity alone rivals that of America. The masterplan assumes, however, both the foresight of Trump and the stupidity of Putin, things you’d scarcely count on.
The sickening fiasco in the White House was the final proof: Europe’s worst nightmare played out in front of the American press. The Oval Office became a playground. Pettily bullied on everything from his “ingratitude” to his clothes, Mr Zelensky – a wartime leader of three years – held his nerve. The same couldn’t be said for the Ukrainian ambassador, who was in tears by the time Reverend Vance demanded a personal “thank you” for the arms sent by the previous administration. Relent only came with Trump’s tangential attacks on Biden, which only further debased the seriousness of what was unfolding. So the post-Cold War order turns upside down; Russophiles now hold power in the very last place you’d expect.
Photo by Jørgen Håland on Unsplash