US politics is now split by a fault line over Russia that could have far graver global implications even than condemning Ukraine to defeat after President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
The refusal of pro-Donald Trump Republicans in Congress to extend a military lifeline for Ukraine, and the former president’s return to attacking NATO allies in ways that align with Putin’s goals, show that Trump is already reshaping geopolitical realities months before his possible White House return.
The result is rising alarm about Trump’s intentions in any second term, including over whether he would seek to quit the alliance and thereby dismantle the post-World War II trans-Atlantic security arrangements that won the Cold War and led to 80 years of peace in Europe.
The willingness of some GOP lawmakers to walk away from Ukraine and to excuse Trump’s berating of allies reflects shifting political forces in the US, partly dictated by the former president’s “America first” nationalism. But public sentiment has also been molded by an exhausting first two decades of the 21st Century, that were scarred by bloody wars abroad and several financial and domestic crises.
President Joe Biden has reacted to Trump’s recent rhetoric with disgust, framing it as a breach of America’s historic leadership role, and he laid blame with GOP lawmakers for recent Ukrainian battlefield reversals.
The White House said on Saturday after Biden called President Volodymyr Zelensky that “Ukraine’s military was forced to withdraw from Avdiivka after Ukrainian soldiers had to ration ammunition due to dwindling supplies as a result of congressional inaction, resulting in Russia’s first notable gains in months.”
Biden also assured Zelensky of continuing US support ahead of the second…
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