Photo courtesy of AP
The question “What was that?” was in the air after yesterday's public dispute in the White House involving Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump. And it was apparently a real master class in realpolitik from Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.
The term realpolitik was invented by the Europeans, or more precisely, by the Germans. But it was America that wrote the book on it. Realpolitik puts aside moral and ethical aspects of a matter to let pure pragmatism prevail. The way American elites wield realpolitik is truly tour de force.
And yet, there is one flaw in US realpolitik. At least there was one until recently. Although the Americans always managed to came through virtually all situations unscathed, they subsequently had to bear image and reputation costs. Take, for example, the nuclear bombing of Japan, the invasion of Iraq where weapons of mass destruction were never found, the Afghan campaign with the subsequent shameful flight of American troops. The next major failure - at least in terms of image – was supposed to be the Ukrainian project. But the Trump-Vance tandem acted ahead of the curve taking their realpolitik skills to a brand new level.
It is quite possible that the Trump administration managed to fulfill two major tasks in one fell swoop yesterday. First, to withdraw from the Ukrainian project before its completion, that is, before the defeat of Kiev and its allies. A couple of years will pass and everyone will remember that the Americans helped Kiev somewhere at the beginning, after that, as true "peacekeepers", they called for an end to hostilities and then, having exhausted all possibilities for persuasion, simply distanced themselves from this 'terrible situation', as Trump put it. And everything that happened next is no longer the responsibility of the United States.
Secondly, Trump has masterfully weaseled out of the commitment to finance not only military aid to Kiev, but also the rebuilding of Ukraine after the end of hostilities. Now this falls entirely on the Europeans. And this is huge money. Ultimately, the European Union, which is itself on the brink of an economic crisis, will have to choose. Either to use taxpayer money to rebuild Ukraine or to abandon the Ukrainians. Both options will hurt the image of the European elites. In the first case, there is a possibility of protests. The second scenario is fraught with the possibility of Ukraine turning into a second Afghanistan. Corruption, banditry, arms smuggling on an unimaginable scale. Not only refugees will rush across the Ukrainian border into the EU countries, but also all kinds of criminals, former military personnel with PTSD, extremists armed to the teeth.
And one more thing about the post-war restoration of Ukraine. The story with the rare earth minerals deal, proposed by the United States for the benefit of Ukraine, also looks like part of a large spectacle. It has already been said that Ukraine does not have even a tenth of what Trump can count on. That said, the American administration, consisting only of pragmatists has clung to this agreement in defiance of common sense. And then refused to sign it yesterday.
Trump himself dropped a hint that the heated exchange in the White House and the dressing down of Zelensky are nothing more than a political calculus. After the meeting with Zelensky, the American president posted the following on Truth Social. “Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure”.
One can assume that both the US president and his team knew everything they needed before this meeting. But they wanted to make it public, cause a stir and give Trump the opportunity to act at his own discretion. After all, Zelensky, as Trump said, “disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office”. After that, who would blame the US president if he completely stops supporting Ukraine?
And here's what White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “I think it was great that the cameras were rolling because the American people and the entire world got to see what president Trump and his team have been dealing with behind closed doors in the negotiations with Ukrainians.”
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