Donald Trump has long insisted that if he were president, Russia would never have invaded Ukraine. “This war would have never happened if I were president,” he declared in 2022, suggesting that his “tough” negotiating skills would have deterred Vladimir Putin. Yet reality has a way of exposing such boasts – especially now, as Russia launches its largest-ever drone attack on Ukraine… while Trump is, in fact, president.
Wait – what?
The timing of Russia’s massive 90-drone assault this week is a brutal irony for his claims. If his logic held – that strong leadership alone prevents war – then why is Putin escalating now, with President Trump in office? The answer is simple: Trump’s theory was always a fantasy.
The Flaw in Trump’s Logic
Trump’s argument hinges on the idea that Putin invaded Ukraine because he saw weakness in Biden. But history tells a different story. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 – while Barack Obama was president and Biden was vice president – and fueled separatist wars in eastern Ukraine for years. Putin’s ambitions didn’t begin in 2022, and they weren’t deterred by Trump’s presidency either. In fact, during Trump’s term, Putin tested limits with cyberattacks, election interference, and the poisoning of dissidents – hardly signs of intimidation.
Worse, Trump’s own actions may have emboldened Putin. He repeatedly praised the Russian leader, dismissed Russia’s bounties on U.S. soldiers, and even threatened to withhold military aid from Ukraine unless it investigated Biden. If anything, Putin may have seen Trump as an ally – or at least an unpredictable figure he could manipulate.
The Drone Attack That Undercuts Trump’s Narrative
This week’s assault – targeting Kyiv, Lviv, and critical infrastructure – shows Putin’s war is far from over. If Trump’s mere presence in the Oval Office was enough to stop the invasion, why didn’t Putin pause hostilities after Trump’s return? Because wars aren’t decided by one leader’s “toughness.” They’re shaped by geopolitics, military strategy, and long-term goals – none of which hinge on who sits in the White House at a given moment.
Trump’s claim was always more about self-promotion than reality. The war didn’t start because of Biden, just as it wouldn’t have magically vanished under Trump. And now, as Ukraine fights off Russia’s largest drone strike yet, one thing is clear: empty boasts don’t stop wars. Only sustained resolve does.
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One recalls the calls of ‘weak’ being projected onto the Obama administration by FoxNews when Putin invaded first time 2014, Crimea and eastern Ukraine; not a whisper of or about Ukrainian victims….
Meanwhile in Oz, conga lines of US led faux anti-imperialist sh*theads of the left (imo right?) writing in support of Putin using Kremlin talking points, like FoxNews?
RW electoral opportunism and Kremlin astroturfs….