The USA is becoming increasingly weak as the leading nation in Ukraine’s fight against Putin. This is because of Donald Trump, who can fully use his power as a destroyer.
Bastian Brauns reports from Washington
The well-known book that Donald Trump once published as an entrepreneur in 1987 is called “The Art of the Deal”. In it he describes his art of doing business. Almost forty years later, it is clear that the former president has mastered the art of destroying political deals. With dramatic effects not only on your own country, but also on the Middle East, Ukraine, Europe and the entire world.
Because what will most likely fail in Congress this Wednesday is a law that Democrats and Republicans have been negotiating together for weeks and that would ultimately have meant a historic compromise. But Trump and his most loyal comrades-in-arms had something against it.
It all started with a strategic move by Republican members of Congress. The military aid for Ukraine that Joe Biden has long been calling for should only be given a chance if he responds to their extensive demands for border security with Mexico. The heavy concessions extorted in this way were intended to put Joe Biden in a difficult political position with his own clientele.
However, Democrats surprised Republicans by going further than ever before to respond to Republican demands. Joe Biden was willing to pump large amounts of money into border security without insisting on Democratic counter-demands, such as improving the living conditions of U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants, the so-called “Dreamers.”
Trump is out of office but full of power
With such a planned, historic, bipartisan package worth billions, not only the southern border with Mexico could have been better protected from illegal immigrants. The vital financial aid for Ukraine, support for Israel against the Hamas terrorists and humanitarian aid for the Palestinians would also have been restarted. For weeks, the US government has no longer been able to provide the Ukrainians with fresh financial resources.
But suddenly everything was over. Even the powerful minority leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, for whom aid to Ukraine is a real concern in the fight against Russia, suddenly gave in. And in front of the man who has actually been pulling the Republicans’ strings for years: Donald Trump
Trump currently has no formal power as a politician. He is not an elected congressman, senator, or president. He’s not even the official candidate of his party. But his influence is so great ten months before the presidential election that he is able to manipulate American legislation in his favor.
This informal power stems, among other things, from Donald Trump’s ability to literally end the careers of representatives and senators with the snap of his fingers. Anyone who does not submit to his ideas always runs the risk of not being re-elected in the coming elections or not being considered for future positions.
In many cases, the party base is so strongly committed to Donald Trump that, at his behest, they can simply cut off his declared opponents and replace them with loyal Trumpists. So being for Trump is an investment in your own career.
Also personal reasons for total blockade
There are three decisive reasons for Trump’s total blockade:
1. It is simply not in Donald Trump’s interest to clear a crucial election campaign issue with the crisis at the Mexican border. That’s why he and his radical supporters in Congress do not want to respond in any way to what are probably the most far-reaching concessions the Democrats have made in years.
2. He has also long wanted to prevent the urgently needed financial aid for Ukraine. The maxim of him and his MAGA movement is: The Ukrainians in far-away Europe should no longer be provided with any American tax money at all.
