As the US midterms approach, Donald Trump is abandoning Ukraine’s democracy in a desperate effort to deny responsibility for worsening inflation.
asserted
Trump → approach → inflation
Yet this past weekend’s dramatic elections in Brazil and Serbia show that voters can see through such subterfuge.
asserted
voters → show → subterfuge
If US voters follow in the footsteps of their Brazilian and Serbian counterparts, a Democratic landslide is likely.
asserted
landslide → follow → counterparts
If that happens, Democrats in Congress must act quickly to rein in Trump before he does more damage to the US’s economy and global stature.
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he → happen → economy
Any objective observer would see that Trump’s war of choice against Iran has inflated energy prices, because Iran predictably responded by restricting shipments in the strait of Hormuz, through which much of the Middle East’s oil and gas flows.
asserted
much → see → oil
But Trump, never one to admit error, needed a scapegoat.
asserted
Trump → admit → scapegoat
While holding off Russian troops on the front lines in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, Zelenskyy’s forces have been damaging the Russian economy by attacking its oil refineries.
asserted
forces → hold → refineries
That has finally brought the war home to ordinary Russians in the form of long lines at gasoline stations.
asserted
That → bring → stations
It has also disrupted oil production, putting pressure on a major source of revenue for Putin to fund his invasion.
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Putin → disrupt → invasion
Trump is trying to blame the inflationary surge in US gasoline and diesel prices on these attacks, even though their effect on the global market is small compared to the diminished flow through the strait of Hormuz.
asserted
effect → try → Hormuz
Meanwhile, with Russia making only limited progress in eastern Ukraine despite losing hundreds of thousands of troops, Putin has taken, as is his wont, to attacking Ukrainian civilians.
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nt → make → civilians
He has bombed their cities and attacked their energy infrastructure to deprive them of heat for their homes this coming winter.
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He → bomb → homes
He seems to hope that a freezing populace will pressure Zelensky to capitulate.
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populace → seem → Zelensky
Yet many Ukrainians remain determined to defend their country’s democracy from Putin’s dictatorship.
asserted
Ukrainians → remain → dictatorship
So Putin has turned to his ace-in-the-hole, Trump.
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Putin → turn → hole
The naive American president, with his inattention to detail, craving for flattery, and disturbing admiration for autocrats, was easily won over.
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president → win → autocrats
Trump has now openly sided with Russia.
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Trump → side → Russia
He has authorized the purchase of diesel fuel from Russia, financing Putin’s attacks on Ukrainian cities.
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He → authorize → cities
The gesture will not noticeably reduce market prices before the midterms, but it allows Trump to make a nod of acknowledgment toward the affordability crisis that he normally derides.
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he → reduce → that
He has waived new sanctions on Russia which had just been adopted by overwhelming Congressional majorities in the name of the late senator Lindsey Graham, a purported friend of Trump whose devotion to Ukraine’s democracy Trump now betrays.
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Trump → waive → democracy
The Trump administration suspended delivery of defensive missiles to Ukraine and early-warning intelligence of Russian attacks just as Putin was intensifying his bombing of Ukrainian cities, leaving civilian residents to their fate.
And it reportedly greenlit a decision by Trump’s buddy Elon Musk to slow Starshield, the version of the Starlink satellite internet service that Ukraine’s military depends on for its drones to defend the front line against a vastly larger Russian military.
uncertain
drones → suspend → military
Finally, Trump called for an “energy ceasefire”, by which he effectively meant only an end to Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries (Ukraine has only one badly damaged refinery), not an end of Putin’s efforts to force Ukrainians to freeze this winter.
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Ukraine → call → winter
Ukraine is attacking what are arguably legitimate military targets.
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what → attack → ?
Putin is committing war crimes.
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Putin → commit → crimes
Yet Trump condemned only Ukraine’s attacks, not Russia’s.
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Trump → condemn → attacks
The Ukrainian government would have welcomed a real energy ceasefire but rejected this selective one.
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government → welcome → one
Trump claims his embrace of Putin is an effort to build a relationship with him so he will negotiate peace.
uncertain
he → claim → peace
But offering him enormous benefits in return for nothing won’t force him to the bargaining table.
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offering → offer → table
The former German chancellor Angela Merkel believed that tying Russia to Europe economically would preserve peace with Russia.
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tying → believe → Russia
Instead, Putin acquired the means to invade Ukraine.
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Putin → acquire → Ukraine
Trump’s amateur diplomats – Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner – are hardly primed to do better.
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diplomats → prim → ?
Witkoff embarrassingly dubbed Putin a “humanitarian” for releasing one elderly American held in prison on concocted charges while Putin kept up the indiscriminate attacks on Ukrainian cities.
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Putin → dub → cities
The envoys still seem to think that Putin aspires for only a chunk of Ukrainian territory rather than the destruction of Ukraine’s democracy.
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Putin → seem → democracy
Trump hopes his blame-Ukraine campaign will prevent a Republican midterm debacle.
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campaign → hop → debacle
It should only reinforce voter sentiment that Trump is indifferent to their plight, that he would rather deploy smoke and mirrors than alter his corrupt, self-serving reign.
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he → reinforce → reign
Will a Democratic midterm victory make a difference?
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victory → make → difference
The American presidency largely runs foreign policy, with little input from Congress.
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presidency → run → Congress
However, there are some things that the Democrats might do if they take the reins in January.
uncertain
they → be → January
I would begin with sanctions on Russia.
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I → begin → Russia
The latest round of sanctions won overwhelming bipartisan support, yet the legislation contained the traditional national-interest waiver that Trump invoked to ignore them.
asserted
Trump → win → them
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
