Askold Lozynskyj
Fifty-five year old Marco Rubio appears to be consistently duped by his elder counterpart seventy-five year old Sergei Lavrov who has been at Putin’s side for over twenty years. Fealty is as important to Putin as it is to Trump. Repercussions are somewhat different so far as there have been no reported cases of jumping from the fifth floor in America. Lavrov is known throughout the world as a psychotic liar, yet America’s Secretary of State walks away from his meetings with Lavrov lending credence to his counterpart’s nonsense. Most recently he described his Malaysian talks with Lavrov as substantive and constructive.
Simultaneously Russia continued to bomb Ukrainian cities with more than five hundred drones and missiles on a nightly basis. Particularly hard hit has been the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Almost invariably the targets are civilian sites.
Amidst this travesty and tragedies, finally, America’s embarrassing President seems to have pivoted but not to the extent of an epiphany. He discovered that American stockpiles are not as bare as previously announced and agreed to American munitions including Patriot defensive missiles to other NATO members. Several NATO member countries have stepped up with offers to buy American weapons and deliver them to Ukraine as aid. This is the most recent version of Trump’s art of the deal made very belatedly, but with profit, at the cost of many human lives.
I am not sure that this gets President Trump over the Nobel Peace Prize finishing line. In Trump’s mind this cannot hurt. Ukraine has been frustrated and perhaps even desperate, so following this “deal” President Zelensky may add his own name to the Netanyahu letter to the Nobel committee.
There is nothing inherently wrong with this picture or algorithm. Iran sold Shaheed drones and technology to Russia. At least American weapons will not be sold to Russia. Under Donald Trump that was a possibility.
There is a bill pending in the United States Senate which has been sitting there for some time. That is not unusual except for the fact that his bill has overwhelming support, 83 bipartisan cosponsors. The main Republican co-sponsor is Trump’s pal and golf partner Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina. No more duplicitous a cosponsor exists. The main Democrat is Senator Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut, a very strong legitimate advocate for Ukraine. This bill, despite overwhelming support, is going nowhere unless it is endorsed by Donald Trump. The bill is not about direct aid to Ukraine, but rather about the imposition of sanctions (actually 500% tariff) on those countries that are purchasing Russian oil and gas. Among those countries, aside from China, the most prominent is India. Those two countries represent 75% of the purchasing. While China is not considered a friend, India is, despite its record of collaboration with Russia and the less than stellar human rights record of its Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump has promised to look into the bill and has stated that this bill is “entirely my option”. So much for illusions of separate branches of government.
Recently the United States imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil, one of America’s largest trading partners with which America actually has a trade surplus. The reason for the increased tariff is because Donald Trump sympathizes with a former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, who is being charged and prosecuted for attempting to carry out a coup d’etat in his country after he lost power. Trump is not hiding anything. He has stated very clearly that the tariff is being imposed because of Brazil’s prosecution of Bolsonaro.
America is in trouble. Let’s forget about America as a leader of the Free World. The issue very much is whether America still belongs to the Free World. Deals are the modus operandi of the Trump administration. Issues like ethics and morality are irrelevant inconveniences. The art of the deal has made America a conundrum and dangerous unto itself. Thank God that Europe is stepping up and so global leadership is not entirely made up of Putin, Xi, Kim, the Ayatollah and Trump. Ukraine is certainly doing its part to save the world for freedom and democracy.
American comedienne, actress and talk show hostess Rosie O-Donnell born in Commack, New York, moved to Ireland in January of this year just before Trump took office. She has been and continues to be critical of Trump. Most recently Trump posted on social media that he is considering revoking her citizenship because she is a danger to America. It does not get any more ridiculous. Perhaps everyone who disagrees with America becoming an authoritarian regime should move as well. No, we will stay and work towards an America free of Trump and MAGA. This may be time for a Second American Revolution. No Kings or Idiots!
July 12, 2025
