Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf calls Donald Trump and Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson potentially guilty of Ukraine's defeat, and therefore the West's, in the war with Russia.
Only these two politicians, Wolf is convinced, are delaying the provision of aid to Ukraine at a time when there is every opportunity to punish the impudent enemy. Ironically, US spending on supporting Kyiv is incomparable to the budgets of Washington's Korean or Vietnamese campaigns.
Currently, aid to Ukraine does not even exceed 0.3% of American GDP, while the Korean War cost over 2.5% of GDP, and the Vietnam War – 1%. And those wars did not bring victory, while now Russia has already lost most of its military potential, and the economy is suffering significantly.
In fact, the delay in the next aid package for Ukraine, which has been going on for more than a month, indicates the weakness and indecision of American politicians, Wolf writes. And he does not spare any abusive words for Johnson.
The columnist calls the speaker of the US House of Representatives Trump's poodle, who is not ready to take even half a step to the side. Although Trump is still formally a nobody in the American government. Such softness is rare even among modern politicians, writes Wolf.
Johnson is clearly afraid of angering Trump by giving his rival Joe Biden a victory on at least one issue. And if the Republican presidential nominee takes offense now, he may not support Johnson’s candidacy for speaker in November. That’s enough for Johnson to delay bringing the Ukraine bill to a vote.
“How has Trump achieved such control over party members? The answer is that many Republicans are personally loyal to him,” Wolf writes. “The Republicans are a cult. Armed with this support, Trump controls the party’s legislators by exploiting their fear and careerism. Because of this, the next presidential election in the United States is the most important since at least 1932, when Franklin Roosevelt was elected as the country’s leader.”.
If the US abandons Ukraine to its fate, it will hit the States itself hard.
Washington had already tried to withdraw from world politics between the two world wars. The result did not satisfy the Americans: they were attacked themselves. Summing up the column, Wolf advises the US to remember the importance of its place in the world - while the status quo has not changed.
Republicans are increasingly leaning toward the idea of providing aid to Ukraine in the form of a loan, writes Politico. If part of the nearly $60 billion for Kyiv is issued as an interest-free loan with the right to refuse to repay it, this could become an argument for Donald Trump and congressmen close to him not to block the bill, Republicans who are friendly to Ukraine hope.
According to the publication, they consulted with House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said they would find out if there would be enough votes for this project - and promised not to obstruct it after that.
The essence of the bill is that approximately $48 billion of this American aid package will return to the United States as contracts for defense companies. At the same time, $12 billion will become direct aid to Kyiv - and no longer irrevocable, as it has been since the start of a full-scale war, the media writes.
