President Trump: Russia should have never started it

Oh, well.

The first news I checked when I woke up today was whether the Kremlin had ordered a missile barrage against Kyiv. With a monthly production rate exceeding 100 units and stockpiles consistently maintained above 500, the Kremlin has always possessed the means to attack. They typically use these means to send messages to the West on significant occasions. That has been the pattern — almost a protocol.

However, this protocol was disrupted yesterday, on the eve of President Trump’s inauguration. Ukraine did nothing notable. Neither did Moscow. Nothing deviated from the norm. Putin, the bully, chose to conceal his true intentions in his Russian closet. Last week, I wrote the following statement, which I want to revisit: Neither Zelensky, Putin, nor Trump, for that matter, has any clue how to move forward from here. Everyone is trying to control what they believe they can.

In my opinion, Putin made a wise decision yesterday. He refrained from upsetting the status quo to test the waters. His position is extremely weak. If he tries to play clever and Trump exposes his bluff, it could spell disaster for Putin. The line between maintaining power and being overthrown is very thin.

Donald Trump is one of the best narcissists we have in the world today. He has refined his skills as a bully over the years. Once a bully detects weakness, it is a slippery slope. Some of the statements Donald Trump made yesterday were incisive. I don’t believe he views Putin as a strongman deserving respect. He has significantly downgraded Putin.

Trump understands that Putin is weak:

“He can’t be thrilled — he’s not doing so well. I mean, he’s grinding it out, but most people thought that war would have been over in about one week and now you’re into three years.

I think he’d be very well off to end that war.

We have numbers that almost a million Russian soldiers have been killed, about 700,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed.

Russia’s bigger — they have more soldiers to lose — but that’s no way to run a country”.

Ouch.

Trump’s criticism of Putin for mismanaging his country was unexpected.

Then came the most stinging remark, one that seemingly crushed the Kremlin’s spirit:

“Zelensky wants to make a deal, I don’t know if Putin does… He should make a deal. I think he’s destroying Russia by not making a deal. I think Russia’s going to be in big trouble.”

Trump says a lot of things. For every question, he is perfectly capable of delivering eight different answers. Mixed messaging is psychological warfare; it confuses the listener. After casting a fog, the orchestrator can do whatever he wants and then claim, “I told you so.”

Trump is perfectly capable of reversing his stance by 180 degrees on this issue. There is no guarantee he will maintain his current course. That is the reality we all must live with, a reality that Ukraine and Putin also face. What we must note here is that Trump has shown an acute awareness of the ground situation. He hasn’t fallen for the Kremlin propaganda claiming their victory or their need for the highest chair at the negotiation table due to their supposed strength.

The statements President Trump made yesterday have already softened the Russian position at the negotiation table.

Status Check:

• Day 1: Success
• Sanctions: In place
• Weapons Delivery to Ukraine: In progress
• Status: Healthy

Thanks for reading. Now, more than ever, it’s crucial to make critical information about Ukraine accessible. That’s why I’ve made 351 stories available to the public in 2024, including this one.