How to Advocate for Ukraine in the Trump Era - Part 1
My Signal and WhatsApp are blowing up with people messaging me about the Trump Administration’s comments last week. My LinkedIn feed is consumed with people declaring the end of the world.
What Happened Last Week
For those who may have missed it, Trump talked to Putin and posted on Truth Social flattering things about Putin. He was less flattering of Zelensky and Ukraine.
Newly-minted Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, whose boss wrote The Art of the Deal, gave up two negotiating points to Putin in a news conference without getting anything in return that I can figure out.
“…we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,” Hegseth said. Later in the news conference, he said “…the United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.”
What has gone mostly unnoticed is the negative feedback Hegseth has received for his comments.
