Is this the week that the long-standing bromance between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin came to an end? With these two kooky tyrants, you just never know. Taken at face value, it seems as though President Trump has come to the conclusion that maybe his Russian BFF isn’t on the level about wanting peace with Ukraine. Could it be possible that his pal Vlad doesn’t even care about Trump winning the Nobel Peace Prize?
Most people with any sense have known from the beginning of this saga that Putin sees Trump as a fool and operates solely out of his own personal interests. As an ex-KGB agent, Putin was trained to see people’s weaknesses, and Trump’s are as obvious as the garish bronzer slathered all over his face. He yearns to be taken seriously by people he admires — and he very much admires Putin.
As an ex-KGB agent, Putin was trained to see people’s weaknesses, and Trump’s are as obvious as the garish bronzer slathered all over his face. He yearns to be taken seriously by people he admires — and he very much admires Putin.
Recall that before he was even president in 2017, Trump weirdly lied about already knowing him, declaring that they had been “stable mates” — when in reality they had just been featured in separate profiles on “60 Minutes.” Already, Putin had Trump’s number. During Trump’s first presidential campaign Putin opined that Trump was “a very bright and talented man” and an “absolute leader,” compliments that sent the American reality television star over the moon. “It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond,” Trump gushed in response. The president has defended and supported Putin ever since, and more importantly, Trump has trusted him.
During the 2024 election, one of Trump’s central promises was that he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours. He’s since tried to walk that back, claiming he was joking, but it was a consistent part of his stump speech. He’s been documented saying it at least 53 times.
Most of us understood the implicit terms of such an agreement: Putin would settle for the land he had illegally seized and controlled, and Ukraine would essentially surrender. Trump thought both parties would eagerly accept this “deal” because, in his mind, Russia has “all the cards” and Ukraine is a weak state that knows it cannot possibly survive its eastern neighbor’s long war of aggression. Both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be even more motivated if Trump threw in some promises of real estate developments and agreements to pay for mineral rights. And Trump would finally win that coveted Nobel prize, matching former President Barack Obama, because, let’s face it, Trump is just that awesome.
None of that is working out the way Trump has planned. Vlad has been leading him on with the friendly banter he knows Trump loves, all the while doing exactly as he pleases. Zelenskyy has withstood withering public humiliation from Trump, and he has remained steadfast to his commitment to fight for his country. The Europeans, who don’t see Russia’s invasion of a sovereign country with the same equanimity as Trump, have stepped into the void as well. Each day the war continues, Trump proves himself to be a feckless blowhard to the entire world.
He hasn’t got a clue what to do about it. Trump’s never been a detail man, largely because he doesn’t really understand them and he doesn’t have the patience to learn. Instead, he believes he can will, intimidate or force things into being.
When the Pentagon announced last week that the U.S was pausing its weapons shipments to Ukraine — ostensibly because we have few to spare in light of what could happen with Iran — it came as a shock to Zelenskyy and the Europeans. Putin was no doubt pleased. Despite Trump’s ineffectual pleas on Truth Social — “Vladimir, STOP!” — Putin has continued to relentlessly bombard Ukraine.
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CNN reported that this shift in policy was initiated by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth without the White House’s knowledge, and Trump appeared to be caught unawares when a reporter asked who had approved it. Seated next to Hegseth, the president oddly responded, “I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?” When he was pressed about this the next day by New York Times reporter Shawn McCreesh, Trump was clearly befuddled:
McCreesh: Yesterday, you said that you were not sure who ordered the munitions halted to Ukraine. Have you since been able to figure that out?
Trump: Well, I haven’t thought about it, because we’re looking at Ukraine right now and munitions, but no, I have not gone into it.
McCreesh: What does it say that such a big decision could be made inside your government without your knowing?
Trump: I would know. If a decision was made, I will know. I’ll be the first to know. In fact, most likely I’d give the order, but I haven’t done that yet.
The policy shift was implemented and then it was rescinded, presumably by the White House, after Trump had a long, and apparently unsatisfying, conversation with his former best bud in Moscow. In a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump slammed Putin in terms we’ve never heard him use before. “We get a lot of bullsh*t thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,” he said. “He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”
Reversing the Pentagon’s “pause,” Trump approved defensive munitions for Ukraine and expressed an open mind about GOP South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s tough Russian sanctions bill, which has strong bipartisan support in the Senate and would heavily punish other countries that do business with Russia. People seem to be cautiously optimistic that Trump has finally seen the light and realized that Putin doesn’t have his best interests at heart.
I’ll believe it when I see it. Trump could be playing some kind of game to force Putin to the negotiating table, but it’s very unlikely that Putin will fall for it. From the moment Trump descended from his suite at Trump Tower in 2015, Putin has had him wrapped around his little finger. The Russian dictator knows how to work him — and Putin knows that, deep down, Trump is terrified of any kind of serious confrontation. Putin must have laughed out loud when he read how Trump had bragged to donors during the 2024 campaign that he had talked tough to his Russian counterpart, promising to “bomb the sh*t out of Moscow” if Putin invaded Ukraine, and how Putin had been cowed by the threat.
Trump has now been the president for six months, and all he’s been able come up with toward resolving the is to whine that he’s “not happy” with Vlad. Time will tell if all this is just a tiff — or a trial separation.
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