DISCLOSURE: This is an opinion article. Please note that unsigned editorials represent the collective opinion of The Wingspan student news staff and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the adviser or Gretna East High School. Columns represent the opinion of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the adviser, the Wingspan staff or Gretna East High School.
Yesterday, President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to sign an agreement on minerals, however, the exchange quickly turned hostile with the help of Vice President JD Vance as well as Trump’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. And while some argue that Trump was “putting America first” by telling Zelensky that he was being “disrespectful,” Trump’s outburst actually undermines what this country stands for.
Having watched the entire meeting, I felt embarrassed by the representation of this country. The tense exchange that was broadcast live on outlets like NBC, C-Span and Fox, started when Vance asked Zelensky, “Have you said ‘thank you once?’” Zelensky has thanked the US many times for their help in the fight against the Russian invasion, including during yesterday’s meeting.
Trump then added insult to injury when he said, “Your country is in big trouble, you’re not winning this…We gave you, through this stupid president [Biden], 350 billion…Your men are brave, but you had to use our military. If you didn’t have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks.”
Zelensky agreed with him but pointed out that Trump’s views align very similarly to our president’s favorite dictator: “In three days, I hear it from Putin.”
Trump’s response? “Maybe less.”
Under President Zelensky, Ukraine has spent three years actively fighting against Russia’s invasion of their country. During this time, the US gave $174 billion to Ukraine, according to ABC; Germany committed $55.1 billion, France added $31.3 billion, and dozens of other countries contributed too, according to U.S. News.
While it’s true that the US has sent the most aid to Ukraine, the US has a much larger economy compared to the other countries aiding Ukraine. With a gross domestic product of over $27 trillion, according to the World Bank, this is a small fraction of the country’s total wealth. Meanwhile, Germany has a GDP of about $4.5 trillion and France’s is about $3 trillion, so while the US has contributed the most in a dollar amount, other countries that have contributed are actually sacrificing a larger share of their wealth to support Ukraine. Some may see the US’s aid as a burden on the country, but it’s not as financially straining as it may seem. The US has the most capacity to send aid, which is why it does so to a plethora of countries, not just Ukraine.
Ukraine is in a war with a country that has trillions of dollars to spare, while it only has $28.4 billion dollars for funding its military; this is why foreign aid is critical. That is only, of course, if the countries sending aid are in favor of stopping a dictator. Trump’s actions say otherwise.
It’s no secret that Trump has a history of favoring the authoritarian Vladimir Putin, such as when he dismissed the CIA and FBI, agreeing that Putin meddled in US elections. But yesterday made it even clearer that Trump doesn’t mind letting a dictator crush the underdog. As Republican strategist Karl Rove said yesterday, “the only winner out of today is Vladimir Putin.” Because of the US government’s power, military strength and global influence, the President turning a diplomatic meeting into a shouting match with Zelensky only serves to embolden Putin and his totalitarian government.
Aside from VP Vance being historically against Ukraine’s efforts, even saying, “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another” in 2022, or Trump saying he would let Russia do ‘whatever the hell they want’ to NATO countries, yesterday’s blatant hostility toward Zelensky isn’t just Trump being Trump, it reflects a growing disregard for America’s role in global security. By belittling an ally in the middle of a war, Trump is sending this message on America’s behalf: We no longer care about democracy abroad, even if it means siding with a dictator.
After the meeting and after Zelensky left the White House, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Zelensky can “come back when he is ready for Peace,” but who was the one who started shouting first yesterday? The US should be the peacemaker, not the bully. That is what America should stand for.
“Of course, all Ukrainians want to hear the strong position of the United States on our side,” Zelensky told Fox News yesterday. “He [Trump] always said… ‘peace through strength.’ And that’s why I think he is strong, the United States is strong, two parties together…against Russia. You’re very strong to do steps against Putin.”
Since the US’s inception, this country has been about standing up to what’s wrong and fighting back, exactly what the Ukrainian people are doing now. As a dominant country on the global stage, we use our power to stand up for the less powerful, or at least we used to. Our past presidents, from George Washington fighting for our independence to FDR standing up against Hitler, the person in the Oval Office has fought against tyranny, but now, after 248 years, why aren’t we doing so anymore?
“When Hitler invaded Poland, we didn’t take the side of Hitler,” former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul told MSNBC yesterday. “When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, we didn’t take the side of the Soviets. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and annexed Kuwait, we didn’t take the side of Saddam. This a historic turning point in terms of American foreign policy, where instead of siding with the democrats, the president is alluding he wants to side with the autocrat, the dictator Putin. And that is not in America’s long-term national interest. This will lead to a disaster. We will lose our allies in Europe, in Asia, we will embolden people like Xi Jinping and that’s why this is so tragic to me. And I hope the president understands he is not with the American people on this.”
If the US doesn’t stand up against tyranny and stops being a symbol for freedom and peace, then what would we stand for? A world where authoritarian leaders can seize land without consequences? A future where the US abandons its allies and weakens its own global influence?
Trump’s attack on Zelensky yesterday was more than a heated, angry outburst, it was a direct attack on this country’s long-standing values. If America doesn’t stand up against tyranny, aid its allies and help negotiate peace, then what does its power mean at all?
