Trump Ukraine Stance Sparks Worry for Allies

"Donald Trump's refusal to commit to aiding Ukraine portends a stark choice for U.S. voters if the conflict is still raging in November 2024: The wide-ranging support for Kyiv under President Biden, or indifference to the winner of a conflict that has cost the U.S. and its allies tens of billions of dollars.

The former president, who is also the GOP's leading contender to oppose Mr. Biden next year, also challenged the broad support in the mainstream of the Republican Party for backing Ukraine, with some GOP lawmakers pushing the Biden administration to provide Kyiv with even more advanced and lethal weaponry.

Mr. Trump's comments added to concerns in Europe that the events in Ukraine could grow polarized in U.S. domestic politics as the presidential race approaches, splitting voters and members of Congress down partisan lines. Kyiv's allies said they feared U.S. support for Ukraine could fray.

Mr. Trump told a town-hall event hosted by CNN on Wednesday that his priority would be to put a swift end to the conflict. He declined to say whether he wanted Ukraine to win the conflict, and called on Europe to put up more of the money keeping Kyiv in the fight.

An imminent cease-fire would essentially hand a partial victory to President Vladimir Putin of Russia.

"Russians and Ukrainians, I want them to stop dying," he said. "And I'll have that done in 24 hours."

When Mr. Trump was president, his actions at times failed to match his rhetoric, such as his threat to abandon the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's mutual defense pact if European countries didn't spend more on defense. 

 But the prospect of a U.S. approach to the conflict that diverges from the Biden administration's and its major allies unsettled officials in Europe, and raised fresh doubts about Washington's ability to sustain its lead role in supporting Kyiv. 

 Since start of events in Ukraine in early 2022, Washington has galvanized Western military and economic assistance for Kyiv and a program of sanctions and export bans aimed at Russia's economy.

The U.S. has particularly dominated the delivery of military aid to Ukraine, which European allies' limited armed forces and defense industries have struggled to match.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Wednesday played down concerns that the divide between Republicans and Democrats on the conflict was growing. Opinion polls have shown a significant drop in grass-roots Republican support for the Biden administration's hefty backing of Ukraine, though GOP congressional leaders continue to back funding for Kyiv.

"Who knows where we'll be" by the time of the U.S. presidential election, the Ukrainian leader told the British Broadcasting Corp. "I believe we'll win by then."

Some European officials said the region needs to do more to aid Ukraine, to counter criticism in the U.S. that the continent isn't pulling its weight and relies too much on Washington for its own security.

"I was not a fan of President Trump, but I think he was right about one thing -- Europeans do not share their part of the burden," the European Union's foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell said on Thursday.

European concerns about Washington's direction on Ukraine have been gradually growing since last year's midterm elections, when Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.), now the House speaker, said Congress would no longer offer blank checks for Ukraine.

However, a significant bloc of Republicans, including Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the chamber's GOP leader, have pledged to continue support for arming and financing Ukraine. Mr. McCarthy has also said recently that he supports continued assistance for Kyiv.

Some Republicans urged allies in Europe and elsewhere to take Mr. Trump's remarks with a grain of salt -- for now. They concede the cause for concern, but said that it was too early to presume Mr. Trump would be the GOP nominee, and that he should just be viewed as a candidate trying to engage his supporters.

"I get that we can't ignore him, but we also can't prematurely empower him," one Republican congressional staff member said.

Opponents to Ukraine aid on Capitol Hill remain a small but vocal minority of Republican lawmakers. A letter sent last month to Mr. Biden complaining about "unrestrained" Ukraine aid collected only 19 Republican signatures, including three senators.

The man expected to be among Mr. Trump's prime challengers for the Republican nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, said in March that it wasn't vital to U.S. interests to become "further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia," prompting a backlash on Capitol Hill and from some donors and voters."

 

Among those from Capitol Hill was the aforementioned Republican congressional staffer. As the election approaches, Republican voters will become more informed, and support for Ukraine will become career-threatening for Republican politicians. With Republicans now in control of Congress, the flow of goodies to Zelensky will stop sooner than he expects.

 

1. Trump Ukraine Stance Sparks Worry for Allies. Norman, Laurence;
Walker, Marcus. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 12 May 2023: A.1.