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MaddowBlog-Trump ends the year the way he started it: Vouching for Putin's interest in 'peace'
The pièce de résistance came when the American president declared, in apparent seriousness, “Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed.”
Trump is ending 2025 the same way he started 2025: vouching for Putin’s interest in “peace†in defiance of reality.
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-12-29T21:09:01.878Z
The pièce de résistance came when he declared, in apparent seriousness, “Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed.†www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-ends-the-year-the-way-he-started-it-vouching-for-putins-interest-in-peace
Shortly after his presidential inaugural, Donald Trump insisted that Russia’s Vladimir Putin “wants to have peace now.” In the days, weeks and months that followed, as Putin intensified his war in Ukraine, Trump refused to back off his increasingly ridiculous assertion, repeatedly telling the public and the world that the Russian leader was serious about ending the bloodshed, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding.....
On Saturday, one day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Russia attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles and drones, killing at least one person and wounding 27. The Associated Press reported, “Explosions boomed across Kyiv as the attack began in early morning and continued for hours.”
A day later, Trump, standing alongside Zelenskyy once again, said he believes Putin is serious about peace.
When a reporter reminded the Republican president about Russia’s latest deadly attacks in Ukraine, suggesting that they’re evidence that Putin isn’t serious about peace, Trump replied: “Ukraine has made some very strong attacks also.”
That’s true, although there’s an obvious qualitative difference that the American president really ought to understand: Ukrainians have struck back against an invading force that’s trying to take their country, while Russia launches attacks as part of an effort to take a neighboring country by force. Trump sees an equivalence between the two. That’s absurd.
But the pièce de résistance came when Trump declared, in apparent seriousness, “Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed.”
By this reasoning, Putin’s ongoing war should apparently be seen as a demented form of tough love.
This doesn’t have to be complicated. If Trump is right, and Russia wants Ukraine to “succeed,” it could stop killing Ukrainians and end the conflict. But therein lies the point: Putin doesn’t want Ukraine to succeed; he wants Ukraine to be Russia. Putin doesn’t want peace; he wants Ukraine.
The more Trump vouches for the Russian leader, the louder the questions about whether the American president is blind to reality, in Putin’s pocket or both.
On Saturday, one day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Russia attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles and drones, killing at least one person and wounding 27. The Associated Press reported, “Explosions boomed across Kyiv as the attack began in early morning and continued for hours.”
A day later, Trump, standing alongside Zelenskyy once again, said he believes Putin is serious about peace.
Trump says he thinks Putin is serious about peace
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-12-28T18:30:00.386Z
When a reporter reminded the Republican president about Russia’s latest deadly attacks in Ukraine, suggesting that they’re evidence that Putin isn’t serious about peace, Trump replied: “Ukraine has made some very strong attacks also.”
That’s true, although there’s an obvious qualitative difference that the American president really ought to understand: Ukrainians have struck back against an invading force that’s trying to take their country, while Russia launches attacks as part of an effort to take a neighboring country by force. Trump sees an equivalence between the two. That’s absurd.
Trump: "Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed. It sounds a little strange but President Putin was very generous in his feeling toward Ukraine succeeding, including supplying energy, electricity and other things at very low prices."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-12-28T22:14:52.105Z
But the pièce de résistance came when Trump declared, in apparent seriousness, “Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed.”
By this reasoning, Putin’s ongoing war should apparently be seen as a demented form of tough love.
This doesn’t have to be complicated. If Trump is right, and Russia wants Ukraine to “succeed,” it could stop killing Ukrainians and end the conflict. But therein lies the point: Putin doesn’t want Ukraine to succeed; he wants Ukraine to be Russia. Putin doesn’t want peace; he wants Ukraine.
The more Trump vouches for the Russian leader, the louder the questions about whether the American president is blind to reality, in Putin’s pocket or both.
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