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In the 72 hours since Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met in Alaska, an oldie-but-goodie has re-emerged about the American president: That the Russians must have something on him.
That, according to many on the left, is the only thing that explains Trump’s behavior. After all, he went into the summit insisting on the need for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and promising “severe consequences” if one didn’t come out of the meeting.
He left Alaska telling people that a ceasefire was no longer necessary — and backing away from the whole “consequences” thing. And then there’s this decidedly pro-Russian sentiment from Trump’s Truth Social feed on Sunday night:
I don’t now — and never have — believed that Russia has some sort of deeply compromising information on Trump that explains his behavior toward the country.
In this case, I think the explanation is far simpler. Donald Trump wants to win the Nobel Peace Prize. A peace deal between Russia and Ukraine would very much help his case.
I don’t think Trump is terribly worried about the specifics of that peace agreement. He just wants a deal that he can claim credit for. And so, he does what he has always done — he goes to the more powerful player in the negotiations and tries to placate them.
In Trump’s mind, the best chance at a deal is if the bigger fish (Russia in this case) gets most of what it wants. Then you go to the smaller fish (Ukraine) and say: “Here’s the deal — take it or leave it.”
His assumption is Ukraine will take it because they have no choice. How do I know that? Because Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky exactly that the last time the two met in Washington.
“You’re not in a good position,” Trump told Zelensky. “You don’t have the cards right now.”
Nothing has changed in Trump’s view since then. Russia will dictate the terms of the deal because in his mind might makes right. And, again, Trump doesn’t really care about the details of the deal. He cares about a deal which he can take credit for — so that he can win the Nobel Peace Prize.
To me, that explanation makes far more sense than the idea that Trump is secretly being controlled by Russia. That said, his desire for a deal — regardless of what it means for Ukraine — has very real consequences for the safety and security of Europe going forward. Which is why so many European leaders are at the White House today to try to talk him off his pro-Russia ledge.
