President Trump’s announcement that he will send weapons to Ukraine through NATO and his pledge to impose crippling energy sanctions against Russia in 50 days if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to a cease-fire in the Ukraine War led to the usual mocking criticism of Trump by the mainstream media.
Many reporters slammed Trump’s decision as hypocrisy and flip-flopping, claiming that it contradicted his campaign promises to quickly end the war in Ukraine and keep America out of new wars. Other reporters gloated that Trump’s decision to send additional weapons to Ukraine meant he was implementing President Biden’s Ukraine policy.
These criticisms were far from the truth. What is true about President Trump’s policy shift on the Ukraine War is that for the second time in a month, Trump demonstrated that he will adjust his America First approach to U.S. national security when circumstances change and to maintain American credibility on the world stage.
President Trump announced during a July 14 Oval Office press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that he had decided, due to Putin’s refusal to agree to a cease-fire in the Ukraine War, to sell Patriot missile batteries to NATO to provide to Ukraine. According to press reports, the president may also have decided to sell missiles to Ukraine that could be fired deep inside Russia.
In addition, President Trump announced that the U.S. will impose “severe” 100% secondary tariffs on countries that buy energy from Russia if Putin does not agree to a cease-fire in 50 days.
President Trump expressed his growing frustration with Putin for accelerating the war despite their phone discussions about implementing a cease-fire and diplomatic efforts by Trump’s national security team officials with Russian, Ukrainian, and European officials.
Unfortunately, after six months of Trump’s intensive diplomatic efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine, Putin has shown no interest in ending the war. Putin has not only ignored President Trump’s peace efforts, but he has also disrespected him.
This is why a shift in Trump’s Ukraine policy was needed.
Too often in the past, U.S. presidents issued ultimatums and set deadlines for U.S. adversaries, only to do nothing when their demands were ignored. This undermined both the president’s and America’s credibility on the world stage.
Instead of sticking with failing foreign policies, effective presidents adjust their policies when the circumstances change.
We saw this last month when President Trump decided to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites. This decision followed a 60-day period that Trump gave Iranian officials to negotiate a new nuclear deal to end the Iranian nuclear weapons program, including its uranium enrichment effort. After Iranian diplomats dragged their feet and refused to agree to such a deal, President Trump took action by ordering U.S. bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk missiles to be dropped on deeply buried sites associated with Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
In response to criticism that this decision violated his campaign promises to keep the U.S. out of new wars, the president responded that he had always said he would not permit Iran to get a nuclear bomb and assessed, based on new intelligence, that Iran was getting too close to having operational nuclear weapons.
Trump stressed that the attack on Iran did not involve troops on the ground or a military campaign. He also noted that, as the person who conceived the America First approach to U.S. national security, he gets to decide what this approach includes.
President Trump’s shift in strategy on the war in Ukraine was similar to his decision to bomb Iran. The president adjusted his policy after diplomacy failed, but kept the door open to future negotiations.
Like the Iran situation, the president kept to a primary objective. In the Ukraine War, this is stopping the killing with an immediate cease-fire.
Also, like the decision to bomb Iran, President Trump’s new Ukraine policy was an adjustment that remained true to his core America First principles. By selling weapons to NATO to give to Ukraine, Trump was consistent with his calls for Europe to take primary responsibility for European defense and the Ukraine War. The decision to sell weapons to NATO instead of giving them to Ukraine also reflected Trump’s concern about the high costs that U.S. taxpayers have borne in this war.
There are many factors why President Trump’s diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine have not yet succeeded. U.S.-Russia relations were at a very low point when Trump was sworn in last January due to President Biden’s deeply incompetent foreign policy and constant demonizing of Putin. Putin is paranoid about growing Western influence in Ukraine, refuses to acknowledge Ukrainian nationality, and seems determined to seize most, if not all, of the country. Ukrainian and European officials also initially opposed Trump’s efforts to push for a cease-fire and have frequently undermined his peace efforts.
I believe these factors could be overcome with time and with the additional pressure that President Trump is putting on Putin by sending additional arms to Ukraine and his threat to impose secondary energy sanctions.
I believe President Trump’s Ukraine policy shift was a deliberate change aligned with his overall national security philosophy. It shows not only that Trump is pragmatic but also that America’s enemies will face consequences if they oppose him.
History shows that great presidents are willing to be pragmatic to reach their ultimate goals, rather than being blinded by policies and ideologies that are failing. If Trump’s pragmatism on the Ukraine War succeeds in ending this conflict, he will be remembered as one of America’s greatest presidents.
Fred Fleitz previously served as National Security Council chief of staff, a CIA analyst, and a House Intelligence Committee staff member. He is the Vice Chair of the America First Policy Institute’s Center for American Security.