The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.
On the third anniversary of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine Trump ordered the U.S. delegation at the United Nations (UN) to oppose a resolution condemning Putin’s aggression and destruction of Ukraine. The U.S. voted with North Korea, Putin and other pro-Russian countries in an act of infamy. Trump stabbed Ukraine in the back and put the U.S. on the wrong side of history, international law and U.S. national security interests.
Prior to the UN vote Trump, excluding Ukraine and Europe, began negotiations with Putin on Ukraine’s fate. Trump falsely claimed Ukrainian President Zelensky “started” the war, maligned him as a “dictator” and threatened Ukraine if Zelensky didn’t kowtow to U.S. ultimatums and to Trump personally. Stomach turning. Treating Ukraine as a colony, Trump demanded mineral concessions from Ukraine with no U.S. security guarantee.
Will any Wisconsin Republicans object? Not likely. Wisconsin Representatives Scott Fitzgerald, Glenn Grothman, Bryan Steil, Tom Tiffany, Derrick Van Orden and Senator Ron Johnson have blocked U.S. military aid to Ukraine or voted to cut or end it. Only former Wisconsin GOP Representative Mike Gallagher consistently stood with Ukraine. What about former GOP Governors Thompson and Walker? Ronald Reagan is rolling in his grave.
Moreover, Trump’s repudiation of international law and U.S. national security interests has been extended elsewhere. Trump, an imperialist, has demanded both that Panama surrender the Panama Canal and Denmark “sell” Greenland to America. Trump has refused to rule out the use of force to achieve these territorial grabs. Then there is Gaza.
Mindlessly, Trump wants to “own” Gaza, expel its people and turn it into a resort. Johnson and Van Orden reacted positively. Johnson said it was “out-of-the-box thinking”, while Van Orden suggested “having (the) United States military there… .” A recipe for endless war. Neither has the judgment or temperament to be in Congress.
Trump is also proceeding with a global trade war, starting with China, then Canada and Mexico and soon the European Union. Global trade wars don’t end well. Steep tariffs didn’t solve serious economic problems in the 1930s. Already U.S. consumer confidence is down and inflation is up. Better to solve unfair trade practices with negotiations. And, dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development means U.S. farmers lose a $2.1 billion export market for populations at risk of starvation.
Moreover, Defense Secretary Hegseth, revered by Van Orden, fired General Charles Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the top military lawyers for the Air Force, Army and Navy. The purge means no critic of January 6 (Brown), removal of impediments to violations of the laws of war and the diminution of independent thinking at the Pentagon.
Finally, Trump and Vance in a calculated “mob hit” berated, slandered and humiliated Zelensky before the press and abandoned Ukraine to Putin. Trump acts like a 1930s imperial dictator, seeking world domination and retribution for perceived slights. Few Republicans objected. Shamefully, Van Orden said “it was a great day for America.” Will Europe fill the void and increase its military aid to Ukraine?
– Kaplan wrote a guest column from Washington, D.C., for the Wisconsin State Journal from 1995 – 2009.
