If President Trump intends to commit up to the level of Lindsay Graham's expectations, he has to pivot, execute an about-face, and justify everything that he has so blatantly opposed. He must rehabilitate President Zelinski from someone who started the war to someone worthy of support. We must convert Vladimir Putin from a statesman to war criminal. He must justify the cost of any arms shipment to Ukraine after deploring such costs. He must convert himself from pessimist to optimist about the chances for Ukraine to prevail, after announcing to a beleaguered president Zelinski in the Oval Office that he "had no cards."
This is a task more daunting than faced Franklin Roosevelt in the run-up to World War II when he allegedly wanted to increase support for Britain but proceeded cautiously out of fear for public opinion.
In contrast, Trump must actually reverse his emphatically stated positions and now convince the public, especially his base, that he has not changed but it is Vladimir Putin who has changed. He will finesse the cost of sending arms to Ukraine by claiming he is actually selling them. He will not say that he has been played by Vladimir Putin, rather he will insist that he has exposed Putin for the aggressor he is.
The president must enthusiastically endorse new and heavy sanctions after he has stated that sanctions have not worked. He must justify the seizing of Russian assets after conservatives have argued that doing so weakens the dollar as it undermines confidence in America as the reserve currency.
He must advocate for cooperation with our allies in Europe after disparaging them in every context imaginable as he arranges for them to be conduits of our weapons.
But the real measure of his task is to get people to now believe that it is more desirable for Ukraine to win than for them to lose. At least he will at last be on the side of truth.
