KOMENTÁŘ | Trump will bring destruction upon the American people. The EU badly needs a strongman at the top

When Trump entered the White House, the rest of the world – including his closest allies – expected all sorts of things. But what came surprised everyone, even the biggest pessimists. The US president has initiated contact with Russian leader Vladimir Putin without any hesitation. His phone call last week already indicated that Ukraine is on the back burner and completely irrelevant to Trump. 

What he is really interested in is Ukrainian territory, or what he can carve out of it for himself. This is illustrated by his suggestion that he will not cut off US support to the defending country in exchange for $500 billion worth of rare metals.

American taxpayers have been involved in helping Ukraine indirectly for the past few years, and it should be noted that many of them have been willing and understanding. Now Trump intends to throw all that money away. That is the reality. Did he cheat American taxpayers in exchange for better relations with Russia? It seems so. 

Trump sold out dead soldiers

But the Americans are not the only ones Trump has defrauded. He has utterly betrayed the trust of European allies, some of whom have stuck with America since the First World War. Now he has put the entire European continent on edge. Worst of all, Europe's leaders are stressed, exhausted by war and – weak. 

A weak Europe is what has worried many administrations. But it has never been a bad ally. Jets from European countries assisted the United States when it came under attack by Islamist terrorists on September 11. European soldiers have died for American citizens in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. Trump has spat on the graves of these dead fighters and laughed at their families in just one month in office.

On the one hand, it is understandable that the Europeans needed a boost to become organised and start acting as a power strong enough to deter Russia by its own power, without the need for American assistance. On the other hand, it is hard to understand why it was necessary to stab Europe in the back while the Kremlin is laughing until it is choking on its guts.

Trump's behaviour shows one thing: he has always been interested only in his electoral preferences and his profits. The more you stroke his ego, the better he will treat you. That guy does not know what morality means, he does not know the basic concepts of international law and international relations.

The negotiations with Russia in Riyadh are proof of this. It was only to show that he was the one who brought the Russians to the negotiating table. His brain is not able to pick up that this is exactly the moment the Russians have been waiting for: to get to the table without having to make any kind of compromise. 

Europe needs a strong man up front

Europe needs to get a strong politician in charge, at least during the negotiations on Ukraine. The current ruling establishment, such as Ursula von der Leyen, is not up to such important tasks. Her primary way of fighting is 'stern condemnation and unspeakable concern'. 

But the EU keeps making the same mistake: it keeps appointing leaders who are very skilled bureaucrats but incompetent negotiators. Leyen cannot create pressure on Russia in a way that Russia will understand – that is, strength.

Now the EU needs a hawk like never before, and ideally an Eastern European one. Never have the approaches of politicians like Kaja Kallas or Donald Tusk been more relevant. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Kallas has been warning of what could come if Russia prevails in Ukraine. Tusk, on the other hand, is turning Poland into a military power that could conventionally compete with Russia on its own.

The message to Trump and Western Europe should be very loud: trust the Eastern Europeans, they know what it means to have Russia as a neighbour. Poland, Ukraine, Baltic states, Finland. All these countries know very well what it means to be subjected to Russian aggression, and they all know very well how to defend themselves against it.

Improving relations with Russia? It has a high price

The U.S. administration has figured out that the Riyadh sit-in may foreshadow an improvement in relations with Russia. Was that all it was? No, it was not. It was about power, about starting to negotiate peace without one of the warring parties. Negotiating peace with an aggressor and the most insane presidential administration in U.S. history.

Trump was looking forward to theatrically presenting to the world the remarkable results of his negotiations with Russia without thinking through the consequences. When he delivers them to the public with his traditional "America has won again" rhetoric, the Kremlin will laugh. All the Russians will be laughing while they happily rearm and prepare – for Europe.

Now hold on, dear Americans: when that happens, when Russia goes after Europe, there will be someone else in the White House, someone sane, who will understand the importance of the alliance between Europe and the US. And that is why it will come to the point where America will be at war. You will be at war too, and you will once again eat up what Trump has cooked up – but Trump will not be here to take the blame.

That's exactly what he likes best. Making decisions at the expense of others. That said, poor Joe Biden in his second term had to face the consequences of the deal to withdraw troops from Afghanistan – a deal Trump made with the Taliban – yes, the Taliban. 

The war that awaits us will be the worst in the history of mankind – not only because of its physical scale, but above all because of its nuclear dimension. If the West and Russia go to war, weapons of mass destruction will be dropped, against whatever targets. But it will definitely affect the territory of infinite freedoms and democracy – the territory of the USA. 

Europe should’ve known better

European "weakness" did not come out of nowhere. After the Second World War, it was clear that the main rivalry would be between the Soviet Union and the United States, and it should be noted that Europe had had enough of warfare over the past few millennia.

The time had come for a real and deserved peace. Europe got and kept it, often at a very high price. In effect, Europe was to become a bureaucratic mega-apparatus that would reconcile France and Germany and keep the continent at peace.

But meanwhile, another, far worse threat was growing in the East. This became fully apparent in 2008 and 2014, when the successor to the great USSR, Russia, invaded Georgia, and Ukraine in turn. It was already too late in 2008, let alone in 2014 when Putin decided to annex the Crimean Peninsula. 

To some extent, however, the creation of the European Communities meant that the continent was ready for a period of peace. It was adapting its needs and function accordingly. That is, the development of the economy, the free market and the customs union, the support of culture, education, and modern technology. 

When the European Union was created in 1992 via Maastricht Treaty, less than a year after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it seemed as if there would never be any threat again. Russia was weak, very weak, and it was trying to democratise, although in its own bizarre way. 

It was not until the turn of the millennium that Putin, already as Prime Minister of Russia, helped to launch a brutal campaign in Chechnya. The events in Grozny and elsewhere should have made it clear what this man was capable of – and Europe should really have started to prepare. But – it did not – and here we are. 

Komentář je dostupný i v českém jazyce.