THE NEW YORK TIMES:
The series of recent steps by the president that seem to favor Vladimir Putin reflect his intensifying desire to normalize the relationship with Moscow even if it means further undercutting Ukraine.
President Trump with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine at Mar-a-Lago in December. Credit: Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times
He shunted aside a bipartisan law, signed just weeks ago, imposing new tariffs on Russia. He cut a deal to purchase diesel from Moscow. His negotiators agreed on the vague outlines of a deal for much of Lukoil, a battered Russian energy firm. And he called for the replacement of President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, whose success in taking the fight inside Russia deeply frustrates him.
President Trump’s intensifying effort in the past few weeks to rehabilitate Russia and usher President Vladimir V. Putin back into diplomatic society is remarkable for its speed, its characterization of Mr. Zelensky as the primary obstacle to peace, and its brazen denial that Russia is continuing the war that Mr. Trump says he is trying to end.
“Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine,” Mr. Trump said on Monday, speaking to reporters outside the White House as he left for a campaign rally. “They haven’t been doing much,” he said, making no mention of the Russian missiles and jet-powered drones that have been targeting apartment buildings in Kyiv and Ukraine’s surviving electricity grid.
Mr. Trump’s disdain for Mr. Zelensky is hardly new. Nor is his willingness to give the benefit of the doubt to Mr. Putin, for whom he has often expressed respect and even admiration.
But what is different now is Mr. Trump’s increased determination to force a deal on Mr. Zelensky, telling him that holding out to retain occupied portions of the country’s eastern provinces is not worth it — and that there is money to be made for Ukraine, as well, if it would only drop its objections to an accord, even one written largely on Russia’s terms.
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David E. Sanger | David E. Sanger has covered five American presidents in over four decades at the Times. He often writes about the re-emergence of superpower conflict, the subject of his most recent book. | Monday, October 18, 2026
What a disreputable bloody man the West is being led by! Trump is totally and utterly without honour. But that’s not all; it gets even worse: As we all know, he is also incompetent, self-enriching, greedy, corrupt, cruel, megalomaniacal, lacking in compassion, and much else negative besides. He is everything the West doesn’t need to lead it. Moreover, in Trump, we find all the worst that is to be found in American society: greed, self-love, lack of restraint, lack of principle, and an insatiable desire and drive for profit and money. ‘Gimme more, more, more! Gimme all you got! I wan’ it all!’
Trump went into politics with the express desire to enrich himself. He couldn’t give a tinker’s toss about the welfare of his country or its people. What Trump cares about is his bottom line: profit. He struggled to make it in business, but by God he found a cash cow in American politics. All he had to be was bent; and that comes as second nature to Trump. So, no problem there!
But let us be fair to the man... his father left him only in excess of $413m (adjusted for inflation). How could he possibly have been expected to get by with such a paltry sum of money? He was almost forced to find another very profitable pursuit in his dotage! After all, prices are high in America, and you must to keep up with them if your lifestyle is to be maintained adequately.
The man I feel sorry for is Volodymyr Zelenksyy. He has a major problem on his hands. Spare a thought for that brave man, our hero. He’s got not only ONE SHITBAG to deal with; but TWO: Trump and Putin! Just imagine!
May the Good Lord bless Zelenskyy with strength, wisdom, and continued fortitude. He needs all the help he can get, all the support. The decent world must stick with him. Slava Ukraini! (Glory to Ukraine!) — © Mark Alexander