an Oval Office Showdown Lieutenant General Hill McMaster served as Trump’s national security adviser in his first administration, as he was cheered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The US imposed sanctions on Russia and provided assistance to Ukraine after the war began, but last month, Trump turned US policies into its head. He began peace talks with Russia. Russia accounted for 20% of Ukraine while bombing the rest, and did not invite Ukraine. Then on Friday he denounced Zelensky during an explosive oval office meeting.
“Vladimir Putin couldn’t be happy,” said McMaster, a CBS news contributor. “What he sees is all the pressure on Zelensky, all the pressure on Ukraine, and no pressure on him.”
Trump and Russia
At an oval office meeting with Zelensky on Friday, Trump revealed something like a common cause with the Russian president. Trump accused him and Putin of both he and Putin had been slandered for years by allegations that Russia helped Trump’s campaign and that the US president was tied to his Democratic opponents.
“Putin went through a lot of hell with me. He went through a fake witch hunt using him and Russia,” Trump said.
McMaster, who was it? I was exiled Trump in 2018 said Putin manipulated many world leaders, including the US commander.
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“He appeals to President Trump’s sense of malice, right? “And he’s extremely successful because he’s a master manipulator and one of the best liars in the world.”
The president is being played, McMaster said.
“And he’s played like the other presidents being played, as if the other leaders were played through Putin’s same playbook,” McMaster said.
Fact-checking President Trump’s claims against Ukraine
Trump boasts that he is the only one who can quickly end the war, and boasts of repeatedly making false claims about Ukraine. Last month, he Ukraine suggested to take responsibility Because of the Russian invasion, he says, “You should never have started it.”
Ukraine did not start a war. The battle exploded about three years ago with a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The president also said the US has given Ukraine $350 billion. It’s $122 billion, according to data from the Kiel Institute.
He too I went after Zelenskyy.
“The unelected dictator, Zelenskyy, will be moving fast or he won’t leave the country,” Trump said in the Truth Social Post on February 19.
Zelenskyy is not a dictator. He was elected in 2019. There were no votes due to the war.
McMaster has worked on some of Trump’s claims about Zelensky and Ukraine in recent weeks.
“Well, President Trump has a tendency to say strange things, as we all know, and sometimes that’s what shakes the situation,” he said.
Changing our relationship with Ukraine
Trump also doesn’t always consider how his words hurt his agenda or how they can receive it overseas, McMaster said.
“War is truly a contest of will and what you’re looking at is Donald Trump is giving Ukrainians a series of body blows in ways that could affect the will to continue fighting,” McMaster said.
According to McMaster, Ukrainian allies are likely confused by the meeting.
“They are wondering, “How is President Trump saying kind things about Vladimir Putin while shaking Ukrainian leaders?” ”
Shortly after the battle in the oval office, many Republicans gathered around the president. In X, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said the US was “disregarded” during an oval office meeting. He said he is proud of both the president and the vice president by “stopping America’s first.”
After the meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted to X: “Thank you to @potus for standing up to America in a way that the President has never had the courage to do so before. Thank you for putting America first. America is with you!”
However, some lawmakers on either side of the aisle have expressed concern. Retired Air Force Brigadier General Republican Don Bacon was standing by Ukraine when he spoke 60 minutes before the battle in the oval office.
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“America is the leader of the free world. We are an essential force. If we are not a part of it, no one can stand up to Russia or China. And Ukraine is the victim,” Bacon said. “And I think Putin made it clear that he wants to reestablish his old borders. That’s not our national security interests. So this is a national security issue, and a moral issue.”
He said it appears Trump is softening Putin.
“I don’t know his motivation. Some people think he’s doing this for negotiations and maybe he’ll get a better deal. “All I know is what he says and when he says Russia is not an invader, it’s Ukraine’s fault and it’s just wrong.”
Other Republican lawmakers rushed to call President Trump rude to blame President Zelenki after an oval office meeting, but Bacon was standing by the Ukrainian president. On social media, he said, “It’s a bad day for American foreign policy.”
Sen. Angus King, who is independent from Maine, said he was embarrassed when the United States recently joined the United Nations Russia, serving on the Armed Service and Intelligence Email Committee. Vote against A Ukrainian resolution supported by Europe.
“I always say what is the argument on both sides? You can’t think of a reasonable argument to garner support from Ukraine,” King said in the 60th minute.
King likes to point out that Europe gives Ukraine more than the US and Ukraine gave most.
“They are dying. All they ask of us is to send them a way to protect themselves,” he said.
King called on members of Congress to speak up.
“If we continue to walk away from Ukraine, it will be the biggest geopolitical mistake this country has made since World War II,” he said.
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