Fable One: Donald Trump Is Appeasing Russia?
Who wiped out the Wagner group in Syria? Who sold offensive weapons to Ukraine first? Who warned Germany not to become dependent on the Russian Nord Stream II deal?
Who withdrew from an unfair missile deal with the Russians? Who cajoled and berated NATO members to meet their military investment promises made following the 2014 invasion of Ukraine?
In contrast, who originally conceived a Russian “reset” in 2009? Who publicly virtue-signaled pushing the red “reset” button in Geneva with the current Russian Minister Sergey Lavrov?
Which ex-European leader got a million euros a year working for Russian energy companies?
Of the last four presidents, under whose watch did Putin not invade another country?
Which American president, in hot-mic style, offered to (and did) dismantle US-Eastern Europe missile defense plans in exchange for temporary Putin quietude (“space”) to aid his 2012 reelection?
Fable Two: A Trade War?
Donald Trump is not wildly slapping tariffs on Europeans.
He is simply saying that 1945 is now 80 years past and that the asymmetrical tariffs that Europe imposes on U.S. imports should be corrected. The massive trade surpluses Europe accumulates each year should give way to fairer, more balanced trade.
If Europe does not want tariffs, then simply calibrate its own tariffs on what America places on European imported goods, and work down jointly to zero tariffs on both sides.
Fable Three: America Is Bullying Europe?
The U.S. does not actively interfere in European elections and politics.
In 2024, Europeans, especially the British Laborites, bragged about sending over campaign “volunteers” to work against Trump and, earlier, his conservative predecessors.
British subject Christopher Steele sought to sabotage an entire American 2016 election with a falsified “dossier.”
The Ukrainian ambassador in 2016 wrote an op-ed all but endorsing Hillary Clinton and trashing her opponent.
In September 2024, Mr. Zelenskyy was flown in on a Biden-provided US military jet to Scranton, Pennsylvania—at a pivotal time in the most pivotal swing state—to surround himself with Democrat politicos.
His media-frenzied presence signaled a partisan campaign theme that a Harris win and the continuance of massive Democrat aid to Ukraine would ensure manufacturing jobs, such as the artillery shell factory he selected to visit.
As to NATO, Trump’s pressure from 2017 to 2021 finally pushed more NATO nations to rearm. But even eleven years after promising to invest a mere 2 percent of GDP in defense, nine of the 32 members still have not complied.
Fable Four: Negotiating With Putin Is Selling Out?
In the long history of Western diplomacy with mass-murdering tyrants, Putin doesn’t even rank among the worst. Just ask his former reset partners Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
FDR fueled mass-murdering “Uncle Joe” Stalin’s Red Army as a way to defeat Nazi Germany.
Richard Nixon flattered and cajoled the greatest mass murderer in history, Mao Zedong, to triangulate China against the Soviet Union.
Ronald Reagan offered to share missile defense expertise with Soviet Russia.
Europeans have hosted almost every Palestinian murderous terrorist leader, as a way either of deflecting terrorism from their own shores or emphasizing their general loathing of Israel.
Fable Five: Europe Is Going To Save Ukraine?
Europe rushed to congratulate and celebrate with Zelensky after his preplanned White House blow-up. They are loudly announcing that a supposedly isolationist and appeasing U.S.—which has sent more aid to Ukraine than all nearby European nations combined—will now be supplanted by a “new” muscular and rearmed Europe.
We sincerely hope so.
But on every recent international moral question—ganging up on a lone Israel to appease terrorist forces in the Middle East, standing up to China’s mercantilism, neo-imperialism, and domestic oppression of minorities, or Russia’s prior 2008 and 2014 invasions—European outrage has been muted, real consequences nonexistent.
We are now witnessing European heads of state sending the same old, same old virtue signaling support for the brave Zelenskyy, who supposedly spoke truth to power to the mean U.S. Orange Man.
But where does such performance art lead after the cult hero Zelenskyy had gnawed the hand that gorged him?
To multitudes of European tanks, skies full of European jets, and division after division of crack European infantry now heading east to “back up” Ukraine—led on horseback by its new Joan of Arc, Ursula von der Leyen?
Aside from all the present posturing and mock-heroics, the only way to save Ukraine is for the U.S. president, Donald Trump, to reflect joint Ukrainian, American, and European interests in stopping the war, forcing Putin as far back eastward as possible where he started in 2022, and creating a credible deterrent along with a DMZ/industrial corridor tripwire to stop another 2008, 2014, and 2022 invasion.
Anything else is empty carnival barking.
Unlike Joan of Arc who saved France by listening to the voice of God, St. Ursula of von der Layen will lose Europe because her voices emanate from another source. Von der Layen announced the EU’s intentions to build up the military forces of Union states by providing €150 billion in loans to each member for the purpose of building an all EU military to stand against Russia, backstop Ukraine, and to lessen the impact of potential U.S. disengagement to the embattled nation. The total fund is set at €800 billion—about $841 billion in US dollars.
Most cheer the idea of Europe taking on the task of defending itself and I am among that number. NATO is an anachronism 32 years past its sell-by date. Von der Layen’s method, however will do anything but.
Imagine if Congress voted monies in the forms of loans to each of the fifty states to build an army to replace our own standing armies. Consider the waste due to built-in redundancies. Imagine the cost to each state’s budget. This is von der Layen’s proposal. This is Europe’s insanity.
The United States should not walk away, we should be running away instead. These are not serious people.
I don’t think we should walk away because NATO works. However NATO works essentially because the US is most of NATO in terms of economic and military muscle. Nevertheless nothing can prevent Europe from doing stupid things except for a dose of reality – thus they will ultimately come around just as Zelenskyy has. Without NATO Putin could advance on Poland and the Baltic States in a show of force. And what will France, Britain and Germany do? That would not be something I would expect Ursula von der Layen could easily negotiate a good deal with, afterwards, any more than Trump could negotiate the return of stolen Ukrainian properties prior to 2022.
…“These are not serious people.”
A truer understatement has rarely been uttered!
Andrew Tate in an interview on a PBD podcast summed up the problem well and I think accurately. He said that Europe is being led by a feminine mindset. He quickly followed up by saying he wasn’t saying it was being run by women for the most part - but rather men who are thorough modern Milly type feminized men - who like women (most women - I hasten to add - before our august compliment here on AM Greatness - of those women who don’t fit the following description - band together, get their torches and scythes out and come after me!).
The European “men” are feminine (balless more or less) versions of, caricatures, chest pumping pale shadows of real deal men who?
When we make up our minds to do something, follow through, commit stick with it rather than as with a woman or a womanized man - vow undying devotion until they decide - feel - differently then - it’s "OUT with the hold vows and in with the new, feel good now, better vows.
But - what do we expect when nations allows men and women who have no connection to reality because they have never had to face reality - make a real living, get a real job, face uncertainty, been insecure because mommy, daddy or their nanny state wasn’t there - as it always has been - to pick up after them, “Kiss and make better” and insulate them from the consequences of profligate thinking that has no connection to reality.
That’s the bad news but at the same time the good news.
Because these gelded grandees are going to find that their poncing around will end up precipitating the exact cure that is need - the utter failure of their countires which - like almost happened in America - if we hadn’t had a bracing wake-up call - like the Biden travesty?
We wouldn’t have made the necessary changes need to welcome the dawn of a new day and the arrival of President Trump.
Let them fail, fall, crash and burn - it can’t happen to more deserving leaders and their compliant, lazy citizens.
True, we are the foundation these pompous jerks stand upon while thumping their soft bodied chests.
But, that means that we are in the cat bird’s seat and basically - can insist that they do the right thing - what we tell them to do!
We should cut our support financially and thereby force them by virtue of the commensurate existential threat to themselves make them assume all costs - which will have the benefit of helping undermine their socialist policy addictions - that we have stupidly helped subsidize indirectly by supporting NATO.
When you are dealing with unethical, entitled individuals who think they are entitled to your support the best justice - is rough justice, cut them off, make them suffer and perhaps then they will wake up and smell the reality roses.
Until then - make them squeal - as they deserve to be made - for allowing themselves to become objects of derision, repugnant and untrustworthy as allies and unworthy of our caring.
Task, my peeve is HOW the EU is approaching this. Building up 27 separate mini-armies is silly. The US could withdraw from NATO and the bulk of the organization would still be intact. The command and control would still exist. The protocols of procurement from each of the member’s would still be intact. Von der Layen’s solution is not only stupid, it will hasten the economic collapse of the European Union.
Georgia Meloni said yesterday that Italy would not be among EU members sending troops to Ukraine. Not all NATO members are among the EU, and not all EU members are part of NATO.
I am reminded of all the weaknesses of two formers confederacies----that of the Confederate South and that of the Confederated former colonies. The European Union has all the weakness of both and none of the strength.