Unveiling the Reality: The Top 5 Myths About Trump and Ukraine
Myth One: Is Trump Siding with Russia?
Who was responsible for dismantling the Wagner group in Syria? Who was the first to provide offensive weapons to Ukraine? Who cautioned Germany against relying on the Russian Nord Stream II deal?
Who opted out of a skewed missile agreement with Russia? Who actively urged NATO allies to fulfill their military spending commitments made after the 2014 invasion of Ukraine?
In stark contrast, who first proposed a “reset” with Russia back in 2009? Who visibly signaled their intentions by pressing the infamous red “reset” button in Geneva with Sergey Lavrov, the current Russian Foreign Minister?
Which former European leader received a million euros annually for roles in Russian energy corporations?
Among the last four presidents, under whose leadership did Putin not invade another nation?
Which U.S. president, caught on a hot mic, bargained to dismantle U.S. missile defense systems in Eastern Europe for a temporary facade of calm from Putin to aid in his 2012 re-election bid?
Myth Two: A Trade War?
President Trump is not irrationally imposing tariffs on Europeans.
He is merely asserting that 1945 is now a distant memory and that the unfair tariffs Europe applies to U.S. imports should be rectified.
The substantial trade surpluses accrued by Europe each year should be replaced with a more equitable trading relationship.
If Europe aims to avoid tariffs, it can simply align its tariffs to match those the U.S. places on European imports and collaboratively work towards eliminating tariffs on both sides.
Myth Three: Is America Intimidating Europe?
The U.S. does not meddle in European elections or internal affairs.
In 2024, Europeans, particularly the British Laborites, boasted about dispatching campaign “volunteers” to undermine Trump and his conservative predecessors before him.
British agent Christopher Steele attempted to derail the entire 2016 U.S. election with a fabricated “dossier.”
In 2016, the Ukrainian ambassador penned an op-ed that all but endorsed Hillary Clinton while disparaging her opponent.
In September 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was flown on a Biden-provided U.S. military jet to Scranton, Pennsylvania, during a crucial campaign season in a key swing state, surrounded by Democratic leaders.
His media-driven presence hinted at a campaign narrative that a Kamala Harris victory and continued significant Democratic support for Ukraine would safeguard domestic manufacturing jobs, such as the artillery shell factory he chose to visit.
Regarding NATO, Trump’s insistence from 2017 to 2021 eventually compelled more NATO countries to enhance their defense capabilities.
Yet, even 11 years post-commitment to allocate 2% of GDP for defense, nine out of the 32 members have yet to fulfill that promise.
Myth Four: Is Negotiating with Putin Equivalent to Betrayal?
In the extended timeline of Western diplomacy with tyrants responsible for mass atrocities, Putin does not even rank among the most egregious.
Just ask his former reset partners, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
FDR supported mass-murdering “Uncle Joe” Stalin’s Red Army to vanquish Nazi Germany.
Richard Nixon ingratiated himself with the most infamous mass murderer in history, Mao Zedong, to triangulate China against the Soviet Union.
Ronald Reagan offered to share missile defense technology with Soviet Russia.
European nations have hosted various terrorist leaders, often to redirect terrorism from their own territories or to express their disdain for Israel.
Myth Five: Is Europe Going to Rescue Ukraine?
Europe hastily extended congratulations and support to Zelensky following his planned outburst at the White House.
They are vocally proclaiming that a seemingly isolationist and accommodating United States—which has provided more aid to Ukraine than all neighboring European nations combined—will now be replaced by an invigorated and rearmed Europe.
We genuinely hope this is the case.
However, regarding every significant moral issue on the international stage—rallying against a solitary Israel to placate terrorist factions in the Middle East, countering China’s mercantilism and oppression of minorities, or responding to Russia’s previous aggressions in 2008 and 2014—European outrage has largely been tepid, with tangible repercussions absent.
We are currently witnessing European leaders offering the same old virtue-signaling support for the courageous Zelensky, who reputedly spoke truth to power against the perceived antagonist of the U.S.
But where will such theatrical displays lead after this ‘cult hero’ Zelensky has allegedly bitten the hand that feeds him?
To a multitude of European tanks, a vast array of European aircraft, and numerous divisions of elite European infantry now heading east to “support” Ukraine—led into action by its modern-day Joan of Arc, Ursula von der Leyen?
Besides all the current theatrics and mock-heroism, the only solution to saving Ukraine lies in President Donald Trump harmonizing the interests of Ukraine, America, and Europe to halt the war, pressing Putin back towards where he began in 2022 and establishing a credible deterrent along with a DMZ/industrial corridor to prevent further invasions.
Anything else amounts to hollow rhetoric.
Victor Davis Hanson is a distinguished fellow at the Center for American Greatness.
