ARTICLE
Trump changes tactics, now claiming he’d do more for Ukraine than Biden did
Olena Roshchina
Thursday, 15 February 2024, 10:18
Former US President Donald Trump, who is running for office again, has told his supporters that he would do more to protect Ukraine than current US leader Joe Biden.
SOURCE: Trump at a campaign event in North Charleston, quoted by The New York Times
DETAILS: At a campaign rally, Trump said that under a Biden presidency, Vladimir Putin would “be given everything he wants, including Ukraine.”
“That’s a gift. He’s got a gift,” Trump added.
The NYT notes that Biden has been calling on world leaders and the US Congress for months to provide Ukraine with more military aid and that Trump has been undermining these efforts, but on 14 February, the former president tried to change the scenario, saying he would do more to defend Ukraine than Biden.
Well, thats interesting. Trump has made a few statements about supporting Ukraine recently, but this one is unambiguous.
Is it possible we will soon see a corresponding change of heart among the local anti-Ukraine types? What a choice - reject Trump, or reject years of commitment to a political line?
It is true that US aid has been tentative, limited by, I think, excessive turf warfare by parts of the Army wanting to hold onto “my precious”, in spite of their having no realistic need for it. The Biden admin has been oddly deferential in all this, besides being very respectful of Pentagon “process” - the very slow GLSDB procurement for instance. And then there is the F-16 fiasco. And then there is the Euro slow-roll, especially by the Germans, with little in the way of US “encouragement”.
There is a lot for Trump to criticize, if he wants to commit to this attack vector.