Raymond J. de Souza: Is Trump’s desertion of Ukraine betrayal, stupidity or avarice?

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Cite

Souza, F. R. J. d. (2026, October 18). Raymond J. de Souza: Is Trump’s desertion of Ukraine betrayal, stupidity or avarice? National Post. https://nationalpost.com/opinion/is-trumps-desertion-of-ukraine-betrayal-stupidity-or-avarice

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National Post · collected 2026-10-18 · by Father Raymond J. de Souza

Quick Summary

Columnist Raymond J. de Souza compares President Donald Trump’s approach towards Ukraine during his presidency to Albertans' frustration with Canada's National Energy Program in the early 1980s, where dissent was expressed without actual policy action. De Souza argues that unlike then, Trump’s actions and statements reflect a willingness to harm Ukraine by cutting aid and undermining its efforts against Russia. The columnist cites Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk who categorizes such behavior as either betrayal, stupidity, or greed, suggesting Trump's motives are linked to personal interests rather than strategic alliance with Ukraine.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-18, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

In a recent editorial, Father Raymond J. de Souza criticized former President Donald Trump's stance towards Ukraine and Russia. De Souza argues that Trump's support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amounts to a betrayal or selfishness. Specifically, he notes Trump’s public chastisement of Ukraine for bombing Russian oil refineries while ignoring Putin's attacks on the Ukrainian electrical grid and civilian casualties. De Souza draws an analogy to historical Canadian frustrations during the National Energy Program in the 1980s but emphasizes that Trump’s actions are far more damaging by essentially advocating for letting Ukrainian citizens suffer under Russian aggression. The editorial highlights Trump's repeated attempts since his return to office to push Ukraine towards surrendering to Putin, despite Putin's ongoing military and cyber attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and civilians.

Written for “Trump's Stance On Ukraine” on 2026-10-18, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans strongly left (beta estimate) Confidence high
Leaning: leans strongly left for article 88528 (high confidence, 4 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-18

Story

📰 Trump's Stance On Ukraine
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly left and hedges 13% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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⚖️ Leans left further right than this 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 25 📰 publisher trust 67
“The articles discuss similar themes regarding U.S. policy towards Ukraine but describe different specific incidents and perspectives.”
Trump-Zelenskiy rift threatens vital support for Kyiv different event · 10%
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“Article A describes direct actions and statements by Trump affecting Ukraine's relationship with the US, while Article B is an opinion piece commenting on broader implications of US policy toward Ukraine.”
Canada’s Mark Carney makes final appeal against Alberta separation ahead of referendum different event
NBC News
⚖️ Leans right further right than this 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 35 📰 publisher trust 95
“The articles discuss different topics - one is about Mark Carney's appeal against Alberta separation, while the other comments on a broader political context involving Trump and Ukraine.”
Canada war-gamed a U.S. invasion. A former NORAD commander explains why different event
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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
31
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
13%
4 of 31 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
60/100
National Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

National Post · 967 article(s) · 2 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 2 correction(s)
2026-09-29
Chris Selley: If we’d prefer drug-free prisons to ‘safe snorting,’ we need a system rethink
2026-09-27
Corrections Canada to distribute items for ‘safe snorting’ in federal prisons

Who wrote this

Father Raymond J. de Souza
9 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Since his return to office, Trump has laboured mightily to obtain a surrender from Ukraine for Putin, his kindred spirit, ally and potential grifting partner.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Raymond J. de Souza: Is Trump’s desertion of Ukraine betrayal, stupidity or avarice?
🔮 He was on the cover The Economist’s special summer issue over the headline, “Should you be afraid of Elon Musk?” When U.S. President Donald Trump invited the would-be, perhaps-already-are, gods of artificial intelligence to the White House, Musk was seated directly at the president’s side.
2026-10-11 · assertive framing · Raymond J. de Souza: Elon Musk’s unglorious moment
🔮 The war would start on Oct. 7.
2026-10-04 · assertive framing · Raymond J. de Souza: The day George H.W. Bush came to meet the pope — and me
🔮 They take it over and claim the proceeds — the spoils, if you will.
2026-10-02 · assertive framing · Raymond J. de Souza: Trump finds gangsterism doesn’t always end well
🔮 No one inside the synagogue was hurt in Belleville, but it was a near-enough thing that it may be that comparable measures are needed in Canada.
2026-09-27 · assertive framing · Raymond J. de Souza: In France, the armed forces protect synagogues. Perhaps they should here, too
🔮 By the time Trudeau’s 10 years were up, when conditions would have been favourable for the populist right, the spectre of Trump drove Canadians back to stability, and Mark Carney.
2026-09-19 · assertive framing · Raymond J. de Souza: With populism, Canada’s been there, done that, better than others
🔮 It would be foolish to take theological lessons from a regime that has so lethally perverted authentic religion, but the story of David and Goliath has not only religious significance.
2026-09-13 · assertive framing · Raymond J. de Souza: Welcome to the new world of David and Goliath warfare
🔮 Zita fled, zigging and zagging across Europe until she could book passage to New York, travelling on passports issued by neutral Portugal.
2026-09-05 · assertive framing · Raymond J. de Souza: Hidden for more than 80 years in Canada, Habsburg jewels shine again
🔮 She wanted to be a music star and the 18-year-old who grew up in a one-room cabin with neither electricity nor running water was utterly confident that she could be.
2026-08-28 · assertive framing · Raymond J. de Souza: Dolly Parton, the ‘songteller,’ had a heart as big as her fame
Also by Father Raymond J. de Souza
Raymond J. de Souza: Elon Musk’s unglorious moment
2026-10-11 · National Post
Raymond J. de Souza: The day George H.W. Bush came to meet the pope — and me
2026-10-04 · National Post
Raymond J. de Souza: Trump finds gangsterism doesn’t always end well
2026-10-02 · National Post
Raymond J. de Souza: In France, the armed forces protect synagogues. Perhaps they should here, too
2026-09-27 · National Post
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 9 articles by Father Raymond J. de Souza →

Topics

Albertans Russia Russian Ukraine Ukrainian

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 13× Putin PERSON · 8× Ukraine GPE · 7× Russia GPE · 5× Russian NORP · 4× American NORP · 3× Tusk PERSON · 3× Ukrainian NORP · 3× Zelenskyy PERSON · 3× Albertans NORP · 2×

Narrative

That, in essence, is what the garrulous President Donald Trump means when he chastises the Ukrainians for bombing Russian oil refineries — including expressing a desire that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy be replaced — while blithely ignoring that Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to bomb the Ukrainian electrical grid, to say nothing of the direct killing of civilians unrelated to military targets.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-18
🔮 Since his return to office, Trump has laboured mightily to obtain a surrender from Ukraine for Putin, his kindred spirit, ally and potential grifting partner.
2026-10-18 · National Post
Raymond J. de Souza: Is Trump’s desertion of Ukraine betrayal, stupidity or avarice? · assertive framing

Claims (31 extracted, 4 hedged)

Albertans of sufficient age recall the bumper stickers we saw at the height of the National Energy Program in the early 1980s: “Let the eastern bastards freeze in the dark.” asserted
bastards → recall → dark
That was what it meant “to send a message” then, not staging a foolish referendum. asserted
it → mean → referendum
The bumper sticker slogan was born of frustration and anger, but it was never an actual policy. asserted
it → bear → frustration
Albertans were disgruntled but not disgusting; they did not seek to inflict suffering on others, easterners or otherwise. asserted
they → seek → others
The time for disgusting policy has come, though, and in a most distressing place. asserted
time → come → place
From the most powerful country on Earth, from the ostensible leader of the free world: Let the Ukrainian patriots freeze in the dark. asserted
patriots → let → dark
That, in essence, is what the garrulous President Donald Trump means when he chastises the Ukrainians for bombing Russian oil refineries — including expressing a desire that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy be replaced — while blithely ignoring that Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to bomb the Ukrainian electrical grid, to say nothing of the direct killing of civilians unrelated to military targets. asserted
Putin → mean → targets
That Trump has been on Putin’s side has been evident for some time, ever since he campaigned on the promise to end Russia’s war on Ukraine “in one day.” asserted
he → campaign → day
There are only two ways to end the war in one day — either Putin puts down his weapons and goes home, or Zelenskyy surrenders. asserted
Zelenskyy → be → weapons
Trump has been clear that he prefers the latter. asserted
he → prefer → latter
Since his return to office, Trump has laboured mightily to obtain a surrender from Ukraine for Putin, his kindred spirit, ally and potential grifting partner. asserted
Trump → labour → Putin
He has cut off direct aid, military and otherwise, to Ukraine. asserted
He → cut → Ukraine
He raged at Zelenskyy in the Oval Office; he supplicated Putin in Alaska. asserted
he → rag → Alaska
With Ukraine still fighting, he is growing desperate. asserted
he → fight → ?
By purchasing diesel fuel from Russia — contrary to American law — and exempting Russia from sanctions, he is effectively funding war crimes against the Ukrainian people. asserted
he → purchase → people
Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland suggested an answer this week when addressing the Warsaw Security Forum. uncertain
Tusk → suggest → Forum
“Anyone who, through betrayal, stupidity or for money, seeks to weaken Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression is acting directly against their own people, their country’s security and its sovereignty,” Tusk said on Monday. asserted
Tusk → seek → Monday
Tusk was directly addressing the astonishing phenomenon of pro-Russia parties in Poland — remarkably, there are not one, but two of them — but the “anyone” of whom he speaks would certainly include the Trump administration, the Trump special envoys, the Trump family and the Trump commercial interests. asserted
he → address → administration
Regarding the latest disgusting Trump turn against Kyiv, is it betrayal, stupidity or money? asserted
it → regard → Kyiv
Betrayal suggests that once Trump was a loyal friend. uncertain
Trump → suggest → ?
But ever since he was impeached (and later acquitted) for attempting to enlist Zelenskyy in a 2019 scheme to dig up dirt on the Biden family, Trump has regarded Ukraine as needing to be punished for causing him embarrassment. asserted
Trump → impeach → embarrassment
Trump may not be, strictly speaking, capable of betrayal, which requires the existence of prior morally upright relationship. uncertain
which → speak → relationship
Consider that the very missiles that Putin deploys against apartment buildings, electricity plants and civic infrastructure are the result of a longtime collaboration with Iran. asserted
Putin → consider → Iran
For many years, technology and production has been exchanged between Moscow and Teheran. asserted
technology → exchange → Moscow
It is widely reported that Russian intelligence has assisted Iran in its current war with the United States. asserted
intelligence → report → States
Trump is thereby directly enhancing Putin’s position, at the very time that Putin is indirectly supporting attacks on American bases, American soldiers and their Gulf allies. asserted
Putin → enhance → bases
That Trump is on Russia’s side regarding Putin’s aggression against Ukraine is scandalous. asserted
is → regard → Ukraine
It is worse than scandalous not to take your own side in your own war. asserted
It → take → war
Tusk had in mind Russia’s funding of sympathetic voices in Poland, just as it funnels money to some of the more prominent MAGA voices that undermine support for Ukraine. asserted
that → have → Ukraine
But it could also apply to Trump’s foreign policy, which from Qatar to Caracas is designed to fill the coffers of Trump’s family and friends. uncertain
which → apply → family
When Trump’s special envoys visit Moscow, they discuss the family business openly, without shame. asserted
they → visit → shame
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