5mo ago

Trump-Zelenskyy clash marks a defining turn away from U.S. defense of democracies

www.nbcnews.com

Summary

A dramatic Oval Office confrontation between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy underscored Trump’s hostility toward Ukraine and preference for negotiating with Russia.

Unlike past presidents who handled tense exchanges with allies privately, Trump and JD Vance berated Zelenskyy on camera, siding with Russia over a democratic ally.

This marked a break from decades of bipartisan U.S. policy that prioritized supporting democracies for stability and economic benefits.

Republicans largely praised Trump's stance, while Democrats and European leaders firmly backed Ukraine. The meeting ended with Zelenskyy being asked to leave after warning that Putin would eventually attack NATO countries.

31 comments

From the article...
Previous American presidents have had plenty of tense exchanges with allies, but often in private and never like this.
What made this one different was not just that it unfolded with cameras rolling, but that it featured an American president siding with an autocratic and longtime adversary, Russia, against a nascent democracy that has struggled for years to break away from Moscow’s orbit and join the NATO alliance of Western democracies.
- Its dangerous and we shouldn't allow this presidency to continue. Next thing we know we'll be crushing other democratic nations with the autocracies until the whole world is enslaved.
  
  Isnt that the plan though? I think Trump is being pretty open about it.
  
  and we shouldn’t allow this presidency to continue.
  There are legal safeguards for that built-in.
  If you're not just being hyperbolic (or astroturfing for anarchy), and there is some truth to what you're saying, at some point those safe guards will kick in.
  And just because they haven't kicked in yet doesn't mean they won't kick in later.
  _This _comment _is _licensed _under _CC _BY-NC-SA _4.0
No one loves democracy more than America! America would never overthrow a democratically elected government to protect the business interests of American corporations!
Those nerves you need to stay calm debating with such a jerk...
Oh give me a fucking break. Defending democracies? Since when has the US not been more likely to destroy democracies than protect them. US Ukraine policy has nothing to do with democracy.
Nice fantasies you tell to yourselves.
Democracies everywhere breathe a sigh of relief.
Edit: are the downvotes are because I didn’t say thank you to the American people. ?
- You can't seriously think that trump's bullshit makes anything better.
  
  How about sticking to the topic ?
- As atrocious as our foreign policy has been over the years, we have been far more keen to pressure authoritarian allies into democratic reforms than other major powers with their allies.
  PR matters - it isn't separate from policy, it both shapes and is shaped by policy. And our PR was centered around the idea of being a friend to democracy. That doesn't mean we actually were a friend to democracy - but it does mean that every action against democracy, or every inaction failing to defend it - carried an additional cost - in more intensive propaganda, in lies or subterfuge, in manufacturing issues - that it will no longer carry going forward.
  tl;dr; you thought our foreign policy was shitty before? You ain't seen nothin' yet.

31 comments