After I returned from my two-week European foreign affairs journey, my stateside friends asked me, “What’s the buzz in Europe? What are the Europeans saying about Trump?”
My response was, “They’re really not talking about Trump. They’re talking almost exclusively about Putin.”
In conversation after conversation, you get a real sense of how much the people in countries in close proximity to Russia fear Putin. They are genuinely worried. They worry about their safety. They worry about their freedom. And they worry that their country could be next should Putin move on from Ukraine.
While there, you are also reminded how few barriers there are between Russia and its European neighbors.
One of the comments that former President of Poland, Lech Wałęsa, made is that “Poland doesn’t have great soil or a ton of minerals. What it does have is location, location, location.” Basically, Poland is in the center of all the countries that surround Russia, making it a pivotal piece of real estate.
Last week we learned that Trump plans to meet Putin in Alaska on Friday. This announcement does not fill me with hope. Instead, I feel a sense of dread and despair. Trump has not yet invited Zelensky to this meeting. And how weird is it that the meeting is taking place in Alaska, once formerly owned by Russia?
In my mind, it’s a sign of capitulation that Trump invited Putin to the States, given that Putin has not agreed to a ceasefire. There are good reasons that Putin has not been invited to the States in almost a decade. And whatever happened to the sanctions that Trump promised if Putin did not agree to that said ceasefire?
I would venture a guess that the rest of Europe does not have feelings of hope about this meeting either. What kind of diplomatic move is it when only one side of a conflict is invited to discuss peace?
Sam Greene, professor in Russian politics at King’s College London said, “The symbolism of holding the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska is horrendous—as though designed to demonstrate that borders can change, land can be bought and sold. Never mind that mainstream Russian discourse maintains a claim that Alaska should be returned to Russia.”
The whole situation brings to mind the meeting that Trump had with Putin in Helsinki during his first term when Trump claimed to trust Putin’s explanations for a series of events as opposed to those of his own intelligence agencies.
And then there’s the issue of Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy and former real estate and golf buddy with absolutely no diplomatic experience, flying around to Gaza, Russia, and Iran.
Not much progress so far in those areas. However, there has been progress in one other area. The two real estate/golf buddies have closed a cryptocurrency deal with Abu Dhabi, the wealthiest and most powerful member of the United Arab Emirates, which will reward both of them and their respective sons with mountains of profits. They’re calling it World Liberty Financial.
So, ok, it’s not difficult to conclude that Trump is more interested in business deals rather than diplomacy. Now Trump is also in the midst of a serious campaign to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Want to garner favor with Trump? In addition to bringing him gifts gilded with gold, as Apple CEO Tim Cook did, you can nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, following the leaders of Pakistan, Israel, and Cambodia.
John Bolton, who was Trump’s National Security Advisor in Trump’s first term and is now on Trump’s long enemies list said this about Witkoff: “He knows nothing about Russia, he knows nothing about Ukraine, he knows nothing about Iran. He knows nothing about nuclear weapons. What could go wrong?”
It is safe to say that virtually none of Trump’s ambassadorial appointments have diplomatic experience or deep knowledge about the countries in which they now reside. Just last week Trump nominated Tammy Bruce as the next U.S. deputy representative to the United Nations. Bruce is a former Fox News commentator with no foreign policy experience. Couple that with the expertise of Trump’s senior advisor appointments at State and Defense and you are not left with a sense that America is in good hands, so we can sleep soundly at night.
Napoleon once wrote, “The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls the chaos, both his own and the enemies.”
Frankly, I have never seen a more chaotic state of American diplomacy. It smacks of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. I’ve always been a fan of appointing people with deep technical expertise in the subject at hand. Otherwise, you just might find yourself on a ship that slowly begins to sink.
Maria Grant was principal-in-charge of the federal human capital practice of an international consulting firm. While on the Eastern Shore, she focuses on writing, reading, music, and nature.
0 Responses
The Europeans have been through this before with Neville Chanberlain so it isn’t a new pattern that they have to recognize.
Jim, excellent point. Thanks for writing.
Our family also vacationed in Europe in late July and noted a similar fear of Russia in our contacts with people we have known there for many years. Unfortunately, the source of that fear is not only Putin’s aggressive intent toward European nations, but is significantly intensified by the feeling that Trump has clearly signaled that the US is no longer a reliable ally.
Trump draws primarily from his real estate background by assuming his dealings with all nations, friend or foe, are a zero sum game where he should attempt to maximize the benefit to the US at the expense of the other country. This narrow-minded narcissistic approach to diplomacy with our European allies belies 80 years of deliberate diplomatic partnership with them that has produced strong resistance to Russian aggression by achieving agreements that provide mutual benefit. Trump’s departure from this model is an unwise deviation that will place both Europe and the US in a vulnerable position going forward, raising the potential for disastrous consequences.
Wilson, I couldn’t agree more. It’s all extremely depressing. Thanks for writing.
Thank you. Perceptive as always. We need to listen to these facts and not be afraid to express our horror and disbelief.
Nancy, I agree. Thanks for writing!