What If….. ? Part One; Putin.

What If…..? Part One; Putin.

A Mentally Unstable, Uninformed Megalomaniac is Addicted to Micromanaging Serial Chaos?

“If it’s not solved [if I am elected], I will have it solved in 24 hours with Zelensky and with Putin.”

“Well, I was being a little bit sarcastic when I said that… What I really mean is I’d like to get it settled,

and I think I’ll be successful.”

“This war has been going on for three years. It’s a war that would have never happened if I was president …It’s Biden’s war. It’s not my war. I have nothing to do with it.”

“This isn’t my war, we got ourselves entangled in something we shouldn’t have been involved in… I think something’s going to happen, and if it doesn’t, I just back away and they’re going to have to keep going.”

To diehard MAGA followers, Trump is doing what they elected him for: tearing down the “deep state,” purging as many people of color possible to elevate the true America (a white Christian, two gender, nationalist nation – no one else belongs… not even the Native Americans whose land was stolen), eliminating anything that might remotely offend white Christian nationalists, shriveling government into a tiny powerless body whose primary function is to purge the opposition, to impale the elites on the angry spears of the forgotten working class, to sink those so-called “institutions of higher learning’ into humiliating submission, punishing globalists and the nations who have “preyed” on our consumers, hammering judges and the justice system to fight only for white Christian nationalism above all else… and to do it all under a brutal (the more obviously brutal, the better) and repressive heavy foot of the ordained autocrat. From this morass, MAGA diehards believe after a short period of economic adjustment, they will call the shots, have well-paying jobs and live in a world where their culture defines… everything.

They admire Putin’s cold dedication, efficiency and determination. So did Trump, until after humongous efforts, Putin amped up his drone attacks against Kyiv, ignoring our President, feeling that Trump was about to walk away, pull his support from Ukraine… Putin’s expectation from “day one.” If leaders know one thing about Trump, he changes is mind like wind direction, and if he truly cannot deliver what he promises, he blames others and walks away. Just look at the sequence of Trump quotes above, starting with his campaign rhetoric; watch Trump’s words change as Putin never veered from his goal.

With the exception of autocratic leaders and their subjugated minions, there are no vast pools of Trump admirers anywhere on earth. Of all the dictators on the planet, the autocrat who has played Trump like a concertmaster with a Stradivarius violin… is Trump puppet master and mind controlling Svengali, Vladimir Putin. Putin has a clear and unwavering goal: to reconfigure the scattered pieces of the former Soviet Union, once again, into direct control of Mother Russia… and, of course, Putin. Unless he can crush Ukraine, bring that nation to its knees before him, Putin does not have the credibility or the intimidation power to take the rest of the former USSR. And in his mind’s eye, only American military equipment, satellite systems and money can save Ukraine from his lustful ambition.

“In Red Square on May 9th Vladimir Putin [celebrated] Victory Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany. The parade used to include Russia’s second-world-war allies. Today, as Mr Putin targets what he absurdly claims is another ‘Nazi’ government in Ukraine, it signals how Russia stands resolutely against the West. That should worry all of Europe.

“As the death toll in Ukraine has grown, Mr Putin’s war aims have swollen to justify Russian losses. What began as a special military operation next door has become Russia’s existential struggle against distant enemies. This is a profound shift. It means Ukraine’s future depends on Mr Putin’s ambitions more than President Donald Trump’s theatrical diplomacy. It also means that many Europeans are complacent about the threat Russia poses—and that they misunderstand how to deter him.

“Russia may not be about to invade other parts of Europe. But it will try to gain sway by redoubling its cyber-attacks, influence operations, assassinations and sabotage. If Mr Putin senses weakness, he could seek to split apart NATO by seizing a small piece of territory and daring the allies to respond. He could be ready for that in two to five years. This may sound a long time. In military planning it is the blink of an eye…

“Europe is buying more arms. New figures from SIPRI, a Swedish think-tank, show that NATO, excluding America, increased spending by $68bn, or 19%, in 2022-23. More is needed, but European leaders have still not prepared voters for the sacrifices ahead. They are squabbling over arms contracts. For example, Britain may not be allowed to join a European Union scheme unless it lets EU boats fish in its waters.

“Work is needed to enhance NATO’s unity, especially if America no longer binds it together. It is naive to think that countries like Spain and Portugal will ever fear Russia as Estonia and Poland do. But they face threats to their infrastructure and politics. They also have a vital interest in the EU being spared the dysfunction that would result from greater Russian influence over its eastern members.

“Last, Europe needs a Russia policy that looks beyond Ukraine. In the cold war the West persuaded ordinary Russians that it was on their side, and that what kept them from freedom and prosperity was the Soviet regime. It cultivated dissidents and encouraged contacts. Today, too many Europeans are hostile to all Russians, rather than just the warmongers… Europe has the wealth and industrial power to withstand Mr Putin. It has the potential to find an accommodation with his successor. As Russian soldiers strut through Red Square, the question is whether Europe can overcome its divisions in order to save Ukraine and protect itself.” The Economist, May 8th.

Indeed, Trump’s vacillations are exactly what Vladimir Putin planned. Trump’s wildly over-the-top self-aggrandizement, his belief he can control the global economy and settle wars of incomprehensible anger, his back-and-forth love-hate game with Putin… except Putin was a grand master, trained in the art of manipulation during his years with the KGB; Trump was/is but a hapless puppy cowering in Putin’s shadow. To Putin, Europe could never fill the void filled by the US. To Putin, Trump was/is a fool who would ultimately give up. He figured Trump did not have the intelligence or patience to understand either his limits or Putin’s plan or to stick it out. Sanctions just provoked Putin into workarounds (his ships filled with oil are everywhere) or simply something his people would have to endure.

Trump is like a cat who discovers a new toy; he plays with it, exercises his self-image of power, then gets bored and walks away. Putin knew that as soon as he first met Trump. Trump is also distracted by way too much, relying way too heavily on Stephen “My Rasputin” Miller for advice and is surrounded by such a low level of senior advisors and cabinet members, a coterie of individuals way over their heads, infatuated with their own “seeming” power, that their words are “yes, Mr President,” with little in the way of genuine advice, which Trump would ignore anyway.

I’m Peter Dekom, and Trump enjoys destruction far more than building and is fascinated that his words can cause the entire global stock market to tank and recover and then, with a different set of words… Meow! (Sorry cats; I know you are better than that).