This story is adapted from the Slatest newsletter. You can register here to receive it in your inbox every day.
It’s been a tough week for Ukraine, less because of anything happening on the battlefield than because Donald Trump’s hot-and-cold relations with the war-torn country have once again turned frosty. Last Friday, Trump announced plans to import millions of barrels of Russian diesel, subject to U.S. sanctions shortly after the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Trump brutalized his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, over the weekend, saying: “I think it’s time for Ukraine to have a new president.” » And this week, according to Reuters, the White House temporarily limited Ukraine’s access to a satellite system made by SpaceX that it uses for battlefield communications.
These developments have naturally sent those who care about Ukraine’s future into a spiral, convinced that the so-called leader of the free world has shown his true cards. Buying Russian diesel would effectively subsidize Vladimir Putin’s war effort (even though American taxpayers are already helping to arm Ukraine). Ukraine’s satellite access appears to be returning, but the disruption has thwarted attacks and cost Ukraine military drones. Zelensky also appears to be losing patience, expressing betrayal after Trump demanded Ukraine stop attacking Russian energy infrastructure even as Russia continued to attack Ukraine’s. In the context of Trump’s long-standing admiration for Putin, it is difficult to conclude that these developments are anything but bad for Ukraine.
But is Trump’s change of heart permanent? At the risk of sounding nonconformist, the truth is that he was most often hesitant about the war. At times, such as when he accused Zelensky of not being sufficiently grateful for U.S. support last year, Trump sided with Putin. But reluctantly or not, Trump also helped Ukraine significantly by agreeing to let it build U.S. weapons systems and joining Europe in imposing more sanctions against Russia over the summer.
One reason Trump’s latest turn against Ukraine may not last is that his diesel deal looks more like an act of desperation than a lasting strategic shift. As we’ve previously explained, Trump is working to lower U.S. gas prices, which his pet war in Iran has driven up, as the midterm elections approach. Despite his claim that prices “will FALL IN RECORD NUMBER AND FAST!” “, the deal likely won’t do much to ease Americans’ pain at the pump before Election Day. But getting caught trying rarely hurts, and even small decreases could be enough to save imperiled Republican candidates, who can use all the help they can get.
Trump approaches international relations in personalistic terms (he often describes foreign leaders as his friends, even when they are not), so his return to bashing Zelensky is arguably a more worrying development. But a second reason to doubt its sustainability is that a surprising number of Republicans oppose it. Several Republican congressmen joined Democrats in opposing the diesel deal. Republicans facing tough races, including Ashley Hinson in Iowa and Mike Rogers in Michigan, also criticized him. Republicans don’t often stand up to Trump, but their opposition to Ukraine helped block some of his most damaging efforts, including trying to withhold U.S. weapons in his first term and threatening to pull the United States out of NATO in his second.
None of this makes Trump’s change of heart, however long it lasts, any less of a betrayal. Whether his affinity for Putin is due to political desperation, autocratic envy, or the pursuit of profit (Trump’s negotiations to end the war reportedly include an oil deal that would enrich investors in his family’s businesses), it has already cost Ukrainian lives. But it could also come back to haunt Trump. By placing the United States in the position of supporting the two countries’ competing war efforts, the president who campaigned on ending the fighting within 24 hours is arguably helping to prolong it. Talk about winning the battle but losing the war.
If you are like Katie Zacharia, now former Trump press secretary and you suddenly have free time, consider my colleagues’ suggestions on how to spend your weekend:
Understand the world with help from the Muppets: In 2012, Dahlia Lithwick published a cultural analysis that permanently changed how readers viewed their marriage, their workplace, and the United States Supreme Court. At its core, his theory reveals that everyone is either a freewheeling Chaos Muppet (think Gonzo) or a stable, dutiful Order Muppet (think Kermit), and the world operates on the balance between the two. To celebrate Slate’s 30th anniversary, Dahlia revisited the theory with longtime Slate favorite June Thomas for a special Plus-Only Amicus episode.
Take a trip to Blorple Falls: In Slate’s early years, the magazine took a detour from the real world and decamped to a quirky “Western Carolina” town known as Blorple Falls, populated by fictional characters like conservative congressman Blanton Foghorn and his pop star niece Mindy D’Stasio. Why would Slate bother creating this alternate reality? Katy Waldman went down the rabbit hole to delve into this strange chapter in Internet history.
Rethink your birthday plans: As a child, you get a birthday party. But when you grow up, you’ll find yourself stuck with a birthday dinner. In 2008, John Swansburg argued that we should abandon this particular holiday: “It seems like a good idea, the birthday dinner. It’s not. It’s a tedious and miserable affair.”
Let yourself be drawn into this investigation into quicksand: Quicksand once dominated pop culture, but its heyday is behind us. How and why did the tide turn against this sticky substance? In 2010, Daniel Engber dove into quicksand, tackling the subject from angles as diverse as its depictions in film and television, the fetish scene devoted to it, and its changing role in political rhetoric.
It’s been another busy week of news and I, for one, am ready to take a break. But rest assured, we’ll be back in your inbox with more crazy happenings on Monday. Enjoy the weekend!
Gn usa
