Klitschko’s antic pitch to a reelected Trump

Ukraine is bracing for Russia to make a second attempt to take Kyiv. Hence, Zelensky’s desperate SOS to the US: cut the political dithering and deliver the long-promised weapons.

For months, Ukraine has been bemoaning the failure of its US-led allies to supply weapons. This key factor has caused its forces to abandon villages in retreat. And all indications are that Kyiv itself will fall without those weapons.

Incidentally, Ukrainians must find this failure all the more disappointing as they weather intensifying Russian bombardment with drones and missiles its China-led autocratic allies supply.

It is notable, therefore, that Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko is sending out a different message. The former boxing champion is suggesting that a reelected Donald Trump would be better for Ukraine in its fight against Russia than President Biden.

It’s akin to the London mayor thinking Walter Wilkie, the 1940 Republican presidential nominee, would be better for England in its fight against Germany than President Roosevelt. Unthinkable, right?

Yet here is how The Daily Beast reported yesterday on Klitschko’s antic take under the headline, “Why Some Ukrainians Think Trump WILL Save Them“:

He admits that he is disappointed that the US has allowed Republican intransigence to hold Ukraine “a hostage” but he believes blue skies are ahead even in a scenario where Trump is returned to the White House with a Republican majority in Congress.

Foreign leaders hedging bets on Trump’s return

Given Klitschko’s take, you’d never know that Trump himself is the reason for the Republican intransigence he finds so disappointing.  

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a new interview that former President Donald Trump told him he would cut off US military aid to Ukraine in an effort to end its conflict with Russia.

(NBC News, March 12, 2024)

But perhaps we are watching Ukraine play a despairing version of good cop (Zelensky) bad cop (Klitschko). And one can hardly blame them for wanting to hedge their bets. 

Besides, everyone knows that idle flattery works wonders on Trump. The Ukrainians’ savior? How could this messianic, useful idiot resist? So, do not be surprised if Trump announces soon that he has given his blessing to congressional Republicans to pass the $60 billion aid package for Ukraine.

I cannot overstate that Republicans have been refusing to do so for months, primarily at Trump’s behest. But, even on matters of life and death like this, all it takes is idle flattery for Trump to change his mind. 

Of course, President Orbán’s pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago betrays the open secret that foreign leaders of all stripes are hedging their bets on a reelected Trump.

Indeed, just today, reporters had UK foreign secretary David Cameron on the back foot. He was hemming and hawing to explain why he visited Trump in Florida before meeting with officials from the Biden administration in Washington.

Media coverage fueling a self-fulfilling prophecy

Meanwhile, it’s troubling enough that the media are covering Trump as if his reelection is a foregone conclusion. But they are reporting everything he says and does as if Trump, not Biden, is president of the United States.

You’d never know that Trump is facing criminal trials that could render his candidacy too norm-breaking even for his most MAGA followers.

But Trump knows that all it takes is an outrageous post on his Truth Social platform for mainstream reporters to be all over it like flies on shit. Because the media are only interested in the ratings covering Trump generates – journalistic integrity, even democratic principles, be damned.

A slippery slope toward self-fulfilling prophecy

Foreign leaders can be forgiven the political pragmatism inherent in hedging their bets on a reelected Trump. Indeed, Cameron pointed out that meeting with opposition leaders during elections is “standard operating procedure” in democratic countries.

Except that, Trump has shown time and again that his politics is all about shattering norms. And nothing thrills him more than making establishment politicians complicit in his norm-breaking behavior. That’s why he delights in having foreign leaders help him upstage Biden.

Klitschko is helping him do that by looking to a reelected Trump to save Ukraine. However, the focus on and fear of a reelected Trump are such that Klitschko seems unaware that a nominated Trump can save Ukraine today. Trump need only say he wants aid to get to Ukraine now to fend off a looming Russian offensive to take Kyiv, and intransigent Republicans would comply.

Frankly, hedging bets on a reelected Trump is becoming an international game of pandering to his preening ego. But foreign leaders like Klitschko should be wary of burning bridges to Biden’s White House in doing so.

The proverb, a bird in hand is worth two in the bush, comes to mind. After all, Biden is the president, and I’m convinced Trump will never be again.

But even if, by the curse of God, he wins the election, Trump will never make it to the White House again. Most ominously, he has threatened to jail or execute too many military generals. And they will not sit and wait for him to have his way with them.

Biden, beware resentful Ukrainians

For over a year, I’ve hammered the point: Biden’s dithering over sending weapons to Ukraine will be “the biggest blunder of this war.” And Ukrainians will end up resenting Americans for their fatal delays almost as much as they hate Russians for their genocidal invasion. 

Incidentally, for months, I’ve hammered a similar point: Biden’s dithering over conditioning support for Israel is making the US complicit in genocide. And Palestinians will end up resenting Americans and even becoming terrorists for generations to come. 

There’s no denying that Biden has done more to help Ukraine defend itself than any world leader. That’s why it speaks volumes that, despite all he has done, Ukrainians are now thinking that Trump, not him, will save them. But Biden has only himself to blame.