As Trump Works for Russia's Dominance

Let's be clear about what's happening, believe what we see, and assert our commitment to democratic values and ideals

The future of Trump’s America? (Image generated by A.I.)

There are adults in Europe who, for the good of Ukraine and the future of democracy, are searching for a path forward. In the wake of the Oval Office assault on Friday, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are conferring with other European leaders in hopes they can find reasonable grounds for negotiation that will convince Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky that it’s worthwhile meeting with Donald Trump again to secure American support. (Zelensky visited Starmer at 10 Downing Street in London after the White House fiasco, calling this meeting “meaningful and warm.”) I applaud their maturity.

But we should not in any way gloss over the gravity or the clarity of Friday’s attack by Trump and his sidekick JD Vance on a democratic ally, a genuine war hero and a man who’s fighting tooth and nail for his country’s survival against the murderous aggression of Vladimir Putin. Nor should we see Friday’s abuse and effort to humiliate a man who deserves America’s honor and profound respect as an isolated event: This was just Trump’s most visible effort—so far—to dismantle the democratic bulwark against Russia and cede power to a murderous thug who hungers to rebuild the Soviet empire.

So many of us have refused or only reluctantly opened our eyes to this menace. I get it. How could we accept that a man would become the President of the United States and then focus his efforts on the destruction of the very nation and democratic institutions that have created prosperity and security? Despite the visible signs, how could we accept that the so-called leader of the free world would forsake that title and its attendant status and power to kowtow to a Russian dictator and his anti-democratic and imperialist interests?

Was he just joking when he asked during a 2016 campaign press conference, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing”? Did he really mean it when he defended Putin from Bill O’Reilly’s assertion in 2017 that the Kremlin’s boss is “a killer” by saying, “Oh, you think our country is so innocent?” Could there have been a sensible reason why, in 2018 in Helsinki, he rejected the 17 agencies of the U.S. intelligence community—and betrayed America—to side with Putin about Russia not interfering in our elections? Why, oh why, has he only praised Putin in the entirety of his first term? These overt expressions are only the tip of the iceberg—the most visible of the myriad ways he’s sought and taken Russia’s assistance. (Refresh yourself with the 2019 Mueller Report’s central finding that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in “sweeping and systematic fashion.”)

Let’s put aside for a moment the despicable spewing of lies that Ukraine started the war, Zelensky is a dictator, Ukraine is standing in the way of peace, and the Trump regime is committed to negotiating a genuine settlement (yet excludes the Ukrainians and the Europeans). Over the last month, step by step, we have seen Trump’s surrender of America’s defenses against Russia—operations put in place to limit the damage that Putin has sought to inflict on our democratic nation. Among them:

• This weekend Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stopped cyber and information operations against Russia by the U.S. Cyber Command. This despite the fact that Russia has been a major cybersecurity threat to America for more than a decade. In addition, cyberthreat experts at Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have been told to stop focusing on Russian threats.

• A month ago, on her first day in office, Attorney General Pam Bondi ended the Task Force KleptoCapture, put in place after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine to target Russian oligarchs and enforce sanctions.

• Bondi also disbanded the Justice Department’s Foreign Influence Task Force. As Reuters explains, the task force was launched during Trump’s first term to monitor and disrupt foreign propaganda campaigns, including Russia’s, “aimed at sowing discord, undermining democracy and spreading disinformation.”

• And then there’s the multiple attacks on our democratic allies, including JD Vance doubting European democracy and insisting Germany should embrace its far-right, neo-Nazi party, and Pete Hegseth claiming that it’s “unrealistic” for Ukraine to regain its pre-invasion borders and saying Ukraine would not achieve NATO membership.

Trump’s Republican sycophants—many of whom voted to confirm Putin apologists like Tulsi Gabbard, who is now helming American National Intelligence—will be quick to say that these measures are meant to warm relations with the Russians in order to secure an end to the war. There’s always an excuse to enable this man to serve his Russian boss. Note these moves come on top of efforts to fire agents at the FBI and CIA, as well as remove federal employees addressing Russian disinformation at CISA. Remember this when you hear Trump or Elon Musk—whose demolition of USAID foreign relief also strengthens Russia’s hand—talk about reducing fraud and abuse.

Let’s not underestimate the seismic shift away from Trump’s America that Friday’s Oval Office assault is causing and will accelerate around the world. Every democratic nation that assumed America was its ally must now reassess its relationship.

How much can they rely on partnerships and friendships forged and often deepened over the eight decades since the end of World War II? Has the time come for them to acknowledge that America is no longer the indispensable partner? Is it increasingly clear that—whatever Trump mouthes one day to the next—Trump’s America will not stand by NATO’s 31 other member countries and the Article 5 pledge to defend an ally under attack? Note the remarks from newly elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after his victory that his “absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA.”

And this shift not only means the decline of American power and prestige. It will have increasing concrete consequences that we are only beginning to see take effect.

This weekend after the Oval Office ambush, a Norwegian fuel company announced that it will immediately stop supplying fuel to U.S. naval vessels and military forces in Norway’s ports. The company, Haltbakk Bunkers, made its initial statement on Facebook, calling the televised exchange “a backstabbing TV show” and “the biggest shit show ever presented live on TV.” It also urged other European fuel providers to do the same, ending with “Slava Ukraini!”

Later, its owner, Gunnar Gran, told a Norwegian interviewer that “not a liter” of fuel would be supplied to U.S. forces “until Trump is finished.” Gran noted that his company had previously banned sales to Russian concerns after Moscow’s Ukraine invasion. “We run a private limited company and choose our customers,” he said. “We lost a lot of revenue, but we have a moral compass. Now the United States is excluded based on their behavior towards the Ukrainians.”

I’m inspired by this Norwegian’s moral clarity, especially when he recognizes there’s a financial cost for acting on principle. As I noted two weeks ago in “Rooting Against Trump’s America”: “As Trump and his fascist regime aggressively pursue the dismantling of American institutions and the destruction of traditional alliances to align with dictators and other authoritarians—I cheer for his opponents.” And that means taking inspiration from the opponents “wherever in the world we find them.”

I am an American citizen. I love my country—the one that believes in democratic principles like equality and justice.

But now, in Trump’s America, this is a time to think of ourselves as global citizens. We must not allow our hearts to be broken by a White House occupant and regime that has abandoned those principles and is working aggressively to dismantle our democratic system and align with Moscow. As we build our communities of opposition at home, we can also find strength, support and inspiration from friends and allies who share our democratic values and dreams around the world.

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One last note: It was uplifting to see crowds of protestors—estimated in the thousands—lining the streets near a Vermont ski resort this weekend as JD Vance was arriving with his family for a holiday. This came just the day after he participated in the appalling ambush of Volodymyr Zelensky—who did not jet off for a holiday but more day-after-day efforts to save his country at war. The Vermont protestors held such signs as “Trump Serves Putin,” “Stand with Ukraine” and “Vance is a Traitor. Go Ski in Russia.”

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