The image is jarring: Vladimir Putin, a man with an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for war crimes, steps off a plane onto American soil. U.S. military personnel, symbols of national pride, are on their hands and knees, unfurling a red carpet for a leader accused of atrocities in Ukraine. What must Americans think of this spectacle? The disbelief, the outrage, the shame – it’s a gut punch to a nation that prides itself on justice and democratic ideals.
Putin’s arrival in Alaska in August 2025, invited by President Trump, isn’t just a diplomatic misstep; it’s a betrayal of values. Americans, from veterans to civilians, likely feel a mix of anger and confusion. The military, tasked with defending freedom, reduced to ceremonial props for a man who’s orchestrated invasions and suppressed dissent – how does that sit with a nation that honours its service members? The symbolism stings, a stark reminder of how far political posturing can stray from principle.
Worse still is Putin’s audacity to lecture America on elections. A leader who’s never held a free or fair vote in Russia, where opponents are silenced and ballots are manipulated, reportedly advised Trump to ban mail-in ballots, claiming they rig elections. That Trump is considering this advice – despite no evidence of widespread fraud in U.S. mail voting – raises alarms. Americans, who cherish their right to vote, must be reeling at the thought of their president taking cues from an autocrat. The 2024 election saw one-third of voters use mail ballots; restricting them could disenfranchise millions, from overseas military to rural elderly.
This moment demands reflection. Are Americans watching a democracy eroded by foreign influence, cloaked in diplomatic pomp? The red carpet may be rolled up, but the stain on trust lingers. What does it say when a war criminal’s voice shapes U.S. policy? Americans deserve better – they deserve a democracy that stands firm.
Also by Michael Taylor:
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MICHAEL TAYLOR
Thanks for zooming in on this extraordinary and powerful image, Michael. Am wondering how the defence personnel involved must be feeling, literally on their knees, genuflecting to a tyrant and war criminal, and representing the nation as they do so. Thanks for pressing ‘ pause.’
I think you overrate the understanding of the septics.
Trump’s NPP will reveal that he loves putin’s power as much as he loved, Kim Jong Un, before the ‘erratic old man’ and ‘my button is bigger that yours’ jibes.
If America is a country that “prides itself on justice and democratic ideals”, I must have missed something?
Just why wouldn’t America support alleged war criminal Putin, they support Netanyahu?
Switzerland and Hungary would breach their international legal obligations if they hosted Vladimir Putin at a proposed peace summit with Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in Geneva.
Both states remain bound by the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against the Russian president, despite Hungary announcing its withdrawal from the Rome Statute earlier this year.
And then, of course, you have Bibi Netanyahu – were he to be arrested on one of his trips to the US and sent to the Hague the possibility of peace in the Middle East would be given a boost.
The criminally insane welcoming the war criminal…only in today’s America.Meanwhile back at the ranch,Texas to be exact,the Tangerine Tosser continues the shredding of whats left of American democracy,with the assistance of America’s worst governor.
America is fucked.
Why won’t the troops wake up?
If they don’t approve why do they stay, supporting a would be dictator and convicted criminal, genuflect to a well known, international criminal and dictator?
I agree with your commentary, Mr Terry Mills, however, I recall the pre-emptive missile strikes, along with the pre-emptive bombing runs, sought by the USA civilian slaughtering US Air-forces of that same nation, to subdue the savages inhabiting their targeted small country…prior to their clandestine illegal invasion.
Thankfully, this has only occurred on some 40 prior occasions, so not to offend the worldwide United Nations Security Council stationed in Geneva.
What hypocrisy!! Judge not lest ye be judged!!
Clinton, Obama, Trump 1, Biden, Trump 2 have all exceeded the legal constraints of international justice having overseen numerous transgressions into other nations without regard for human rights.
Yes, it is truly bizarre seeing the US President fawn over a war criminal (as the ICC evidence clearly demonstrates)
°°°°°°°°°°
“What hypocrisy!!”
Putin has been charged with war crimes. It might be your opinion that others have “exceeded their legal constraints”, but having volumes of evidence compiled, which results in the laying of charges is an entirely different category
What hypocrisy? (As opposed to “What hypocrisy!”) I was talking about events over the past few days. Suggesting I’m a hypocrite is a bit rich when you know absolutely nothing of my thoughts and opinions of earlier administrations. It will stay that way too.
As stated, this article is about very recent events. Please feel free to point out my hypocrisy on matters I raised in my article.
And now we have the Orange Emperor now reckons he and Netanyahu are “War heroes.” Now that’s hypocrisy of the first water.
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-suggests-hes-war-hero-mark-levin-2116010
GL, thank you for that. When I saw your comment earlier I headed straight for pen and paper.
So much to unpack in order to reveal the truths of these power plays between the USA and its protagonists.
The two 2025 documentary series: Vietnam: The War That Changed America, and Turning Point: The Vietnam War leave no room for doubt as to who the war criminal is in that particular sordid affair. The USA, to state the brutal truth, is in no position to pontificate about good vs evil, human rights, freedoms, war criminals et al… its behaviour in Vietnam demonstrated once & for all its demonic cruelty and bloodthirstiness and zero lack of regard for common decencies. Nearly 60,000 soldiers sacrificed for a lost cause in a fight they should never have been involved in, in a war continually shrouded in lies, obfuscations and denials of disastrous encounters, along with the cost to allied countries including Australia, yet was the lesson learnt? Iraq & Afghanistan suggest not. The hubris of the empire is at the very heart of its undoing and downfall.
Well said, very well said.
“The hubris of the empire is at the very heart of its undoing and downfall.”
Exactly Kanga.
And this hubris leads to a lack of respect.
The US respects no-one, friend or foe.
And this lack of respect creates enemies.
The US has no natural enemies.
No-one has the slightest interest in a confrontation with the US.
The rest of the world just wants to trade, using trade to improve general prosperity, but the deliberate decision of the US to classify economic threats as threats to national security means that the world has become a tinder box — ready to burst into flame.
They’ve turned trade, a time-honoured natural human activity, into a winner-takes-all fight for supremacy.
US paranoia, its determination to be top dog, infects the world.
No-one feels safe, and so productive concepts such as cooperation and mutual aid barely get a look-in.
This did not begin with Trump.
Michael Taylor: My “What hypocrisy!” comments are not directed at your essay, no personal criticism intended. Perhaps I should have chosen “affected superiority” in my comment.
The US servicemen were simply securing the red carpet as is the usual practice when leaders of other nations travel internationally. To suggest that they were on “bended knee” in subservience to Putin is opportunistic, unjustified and cheap shot journalism.
My apologies, Mediocrates. I misunderstood.
A criminal welcoming a criminal?
And being The Donald he yet again hobbles away as fast as his cankles and bone spurs will allow him from the Ukraine invasion and seems to have set his sights, again, on ‘merican “crime ridden” cities, Strangely enough the cities appear to be run by horrible Democrats and not the good law abiding and nice Repugs who all adore and idolise the Orange Emperor. Anything to keep the MAGA culties onside and pump up his fragile ego which has taken a battering lately.
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/17/politics/trump-washington-dc-los-angeles-military-redistricting-analysis
He’s at it again! The stench of the unrequited Nobel is overpowering.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/fight-back-trump-airs-support-for-ukraine-going-on-offensive-against-russia-20250822-p5mowb.html