Donald Trump Washes His Hands of the War in Ukraine

'24 hours' to 'not my problem'

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Throughout the presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine in "24 hours." After speaking with Russian leader Vladimir Putin for two hours on May 19, he said only Russia and Ukraine--and not the United States--could end the war: "The conditions for [the ceasefire] will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of," he wrote on Truth Social. He hinted at business deals with Russia: "Russia wants to do largescale TRADE with the United States when this catastrophic 'bloodbath' is over, and I agree. There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is UNLIMITED." (He added that "Likewise, Ukraine can be a great beneficiary on Trade.")

The root cause of Trump's inability to end the war is his unwillingness to put any pressure whatsoever on Putin to agree to a ceasefire. As such, Putin can simply continue to prosecute the war without fear of more consequences from the U.S. On May 19, Trump told reporters that he would not put any additional sanctions on Russia.

 Putin also does not have to fear his adversary, Ukraine, getting significant military help from the U.S., as a consequence of not agreeing to a ceasefire.