I trust nothing from Trump's Ukrainian kabuki
Trump is leaning hard into the theatrical pomp of the last week solely in service to himself. It is no secret that he craves a Nobel Peace Prize because Barack Obama won one. We all know it.
We're asked to believe that a man who wanted to use live ammunition on his own citizens now cares about how many people are dying in Ukraine. If he is so compassionate, then why did he agree to slash USAID, condemning millions to pain and death?
This is about Donald Trump's sadly warped ego and nothing else. So from that foundational standpoint, this negotiation is brokered in bad faith. There is also something more ominous lurking beneath it.
I think were Trump to tick off the coveted international honor from his bucket list, he would no longer feel the need to present a more palatable and compassionate image to the world. He would dive headlong into his worst instincts, the cruelty, the dictatorial regime, the random mayhem and lashing out at whatever displeases him in the moment. His id would run wild.
So the big question concerns Putin. To what extent would he be willing to go along with Trump's desires? Essentially, he doesn't care about Trump, who he sees as a stooge. However, Trump holds a value to Putin in that he is a dangerous agent of chaos to all the entities Putin opposes. Trump is a threat to the European order and the stability of the United States. With Trump acting at his worst capacities, he would further wreck the U.S. economy, would weaken the strength of liberal democracy around the globe and wreak havoc to NATO.
Should Putin relinquish a little bit of something to earn Trump a gold medallion in Oslo, Putin would later be free to do whatever he wanted with no worry of resistance from Trump. Putin could redouble efforts into Ukraine and Eastern Europe. He could sit back and watch as the U.S. fully descended into banana republic territory, perhaps even breaking out into intermittent and scattered violence from civil war. Trying to help Trump win his desired prize could be the smartest long play Putin ever made.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Could have stopped there. 
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