Trump Straddles the Ukraine Fence

Two factions emerged at CPAC on Russia’s invasion, and the former president played to both.

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Speaking in the primetime slot Saturday night at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, former President Donald Trump had a few things to say about Vladimir Putin’s territorial war against Ukraine. One, the “Russian attack on Ukraine is appalling. It’s an outrage and an atrocity that should never have been allowed to occur.” Two, both the Ukrainian people and their president, Volodymyr Zelensky, are “brave” and deserve our prayers. And three, “As everyone understands, this horrific event would not have happened if there wasn’t a rigged election and I was president.”

Throughout his speech, Trump indulged in the simple pleasures afforded to those who aren’t in power during a crisis, confidently asserting throughout that it was only due to President Joe Biden’s weakness on the world stage that Putin felt comfortable invading Ukraine at all. For much of the speech, indeed, Trump seemed to be doing his best impression of a neoconservative hawk, scoffing at the notion that economic pressure alone could rein Putin in:

The NATO nations, and indeed the world, as [Putin] looks over what’s happening strategically with no repercussions or threats whatsoever—they’re not so smart. They’re looking the opposite of smart. “If you take over Ukraine, we’re going to sanction you,” they say. Sanction? Well, that’s a pretty weak statement. Putin is saying, “Oh, they’re going to sanction me? They sanctioned me for the last 25 years! You mean I can take over a whole country and they’re going to sanction me? You mean they’re not going to blow us to pieces—at least psychologically?” … And they’ve so far allowed him to get away with this travesty and assault on humanity.

Trump interwove much of his commentary on Ukraine with other old grievances.There was, of course, much rehearsing of the false claim that his defeat at Biden’s hands in 2020 was due to foul play. In praising Zelensky, Trump didn’t dwell on the Ukrainian president’s remarkable courage in staying and fighting alongside his people at great personal risk, rejecting a U.S. offer of evacuation. Instead, Trump wanted to discuss how Zelensky helped him score a point on Rep. Adam Schiff during his first impeachment, when he was accused of withholding aid to Ukraine until the country announced a criminal investigation into Joe Biden:

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  1. Avatar photo
    Bono Vox

    “Shifty Schiff”…like the pothead calling the pipe resin black. Seeing the Don on stage in front of roaring crowds makes me think of what was the last thing Eva Braun said….some people will never learn. For the love of God and country, INDICT TRUMP. #REMEMBERASHLIBABBITT. She had her brains blown out for a complete fing lie uttered over and over again by a shameless, mendacious, narcissistic, megalomaniac conman, America’s Biggest Sore Loser Donald J Trump

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    rlritt

    But I don't understand. So many people said Biden's foolish use of sanctions wouldn't work. How can Biden and NATO have done the right thing?

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    1. Avatar photo
      rlritt

      Gasp! They must wrong

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  3. Avatar photo
    JDW

    I thank Zalensky for at least showing the Republican party what real heroism is all about. The Republican party like the evangelical church needs a lot of prayer and a lot of reform.

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  4. Avatar photo
    Matt A

    Funny how history has a way of writing itself to make a more interesting story.

    In an alternate universe, it could be plausible to believe that the impeachment was a waste of time by Trumphobic partisans. Imagine if Pete Buttigieg won the Dem nomination and 340 electoral votes, and Trump had no option but to concede in a huff. Why was everyone so worked up about an old has-been vice president who withdrew after losing the South Carolina primary? How paranoid can you be to think a president would actually try to interfere with an election? Who really cares about our Ukraine foreign policy?

    But subsequent events have only served to validate the significance of that impeachment trial. It was his future challenger and future president that Trump was digging up dirt on. He proved there were no lengths he would not take, not even short of a coup, to ensure he win the election. That phone call in fact proved to be the first act in the campaign to steal the election. The aid he was withholding was to a nation less than three years from the brink of annihilation, and the president he was pressuring would be remembered as a legend. You can’t make this stuff up.

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  5. Avatar photo
    Mike B

    Caption: Noted fabulist grimaces with effort as he commands audience to levitate.

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  6. Avatar photo
    Frank Lee

    “When it comes to sanctions, the purpose of those sanctions is to deter Russian aggression”: Antony Blinken

    “The purpose of the sanctions has always been and continues to be deterrence. But let’s also recognize the unique nature of the sanctions that we have outlined.”: Kamala Harris

    “no one expected the sanctions to prevent anything from happening.”: Joe Biden

    Clown Show

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    1. Avatar photo
      Greenknight

      A threat of sanctions is a warning, nothing more and nothing less.

      Since Putin ignored that warning let's look at what sanctions are actually doing to stop the war (just in the past week): the Russian ruble has collapsed, the Russian stock market has crashed and had to be shut down, inflation in Russia has gone over 20%, all flights into or out of Russia have been cancelled, and companies such as BP (which made over $2 billion last year in partnership with Russia) have started severing ties with Russia. And remember, Russia has a yearly GDP somewhere between Florida and Texas.

      How long can Russia sustain this level of bleeding while being met with unexpectedly fierce resistance from the citizens of Ukraine? Putin made the biggest mistake of his entire life invading Ukraine, and this screwup will end up crippling Russia for years to come.

      But Trump says that Putin is smart and savvy, so I guess it's all ok... because Biden!!!

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      1. Avatar photo
        Frank Lee

        Way WAY too early to start prognosticating this way. If Putin wins, Ukraine is a wealth of natural resources. He immediately gets those returns and also gets carried aloft by the Russian people for winning.

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      2. Avatar photo
        rlritt

        Biden's use of sanctions and his alliance with NATO seem to be working. Who would have thunk it. I guess all those Trump synchophants are "gasp" wrong.

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    2. Avatar photo
      rlritt

      Sanctions don't win wars. Their purpose is to keep money and resources away from the aggressor. From what I'm reading they seem to be working.

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      1. Avatar photo
        Frank Lee

        Apparently you are committed to believing in fiction and like clown shows.

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  7. David Vornholt

    Trump is unhinged. I absolutely would not vote for him:
    https://www.wsj.com/articles/ex-attorney-general-william-barr-urges-gop-to-move-on-from-trump-11645959600?mod=hp_lead_pos10

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    1. Avatar photo
      JDW

      Agree. There is zero chance I will ever support Trump for president. I normally vote Republican. I haven't for two elections at the presidential level. If I were in OH I would seriously consider voting against the Republican nominee if it is Mandel or Vance but especially if it is Vance.

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      1. David Vornholt

        Yes, I will most likely vote Republican this time around but will stay away from Trump or any of his acolytes.

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  8. Brook

    Send in the clowns….

    No, wait. No need. They’re already there.

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  9. R. James

    Given that CPAC is now hosting and publicizing Trump's false stolen election narrative, we should stop treating CPAC as a political event inside the Overton window.

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  10. Avatar photo
    Barry Alexander

    Trumpman’s superpower is to make literally everything that happens be about him.

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    1. Avatar photo
      rlritt

      He is a classic grifter and had been one his whole life.

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