Why would a Russian oligarch not previously known to be a friend of Donald Trump Jr. spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a lavish post-wedding party for Junior and his bride? Would it help to know that this same oligarch is close to Vladimir Putin?
Why would Donald Trump (Senior, aka the president) demand that Ukraine stop hitting Russian refineries because it was driving up the cost of fuel, while making no similar demand that Russia stop its deadly bombings in Ukraine?
Why, when he speaks daily about how economic pressure will bring Iran to its knees, does Trump take no notice of the presence in Tehran of both Russian President Putin and Chinese leader Xi, both pledging their support for Iran against U.S. aggression?
The apparent answer to all three questions lies in the long-standing alliance between Trump and Putin. The roots of the alliance are not clear, but a first guess would be that Putin has something on Trump. Remember that Putin is an old-time KGB man. It’s not hard to imagine that he knows how to use leverage.
Things are not going well for Trump these days. He has to beg his followers to pretend he’s on the ballot; otherwise he fears they won’t vote. The economy is ticking – like a bomb. What’s driving it is high fuel prices caused by the blockade, by Iran and its proxies, of oil and gas exports from both the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. The war that Trump said would be over in weeks is pushing six months, with no solution in sight.
The war is proving far more costly than he and his advisers imagined, depleting critical stocks of weapons such as Patriot missiles, and keeping ships at sea for much longer than normal. That’s because the Iranians knocked out the main U.S. naval support base in the Persian Gulf. Indeed, as the U.S. shows itself unable to defeat, or even contain, Iran, the Persian Gulf states (including Saudi Arabia) are looking to negotiate a modus vivendi with Iran.
Trump is lucky that the Chinese are unlikely to invade Taiwan now, because Xi has been firing politically unreliable generals. Good thing, because the Iran war has literally depleted the Pacific fleet whose task would be to oppose such an invasion.
Good time to start a trade war with Canada, our closest ally and most important trading partner. Our two economies have been closely integrated and interdependent for many decades. Trump even had an agreement that he negotiated with Canada and Mexico, but he chose to tear it up and impose large tariffs, which Canada reciprocated.
As the economy struggles with inflation, much of the northern tier will suffer more as their sales to Canada dry up and the Canadian goods they import get more expensive. Indeed, the economic boom that Trump promised would follow from tariffs has been an illusion.
The centerpiece of Trump’s campaign in 2024 was a demand to find and deport illegal aliens. That the subtext was white nationalism is attested by the fact that the vast majority of those deported were people of color, while a special asylum program was established to benefit South African whites, who were supposedly oppressed by the Black majority government of that country. But even on this centerpiece of his administration, most voters now disapprove of what his administration has done.
His plan to use the Postal Service to restrict access to mail ballots was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court. And all three of his appointees to the court ruled against him. He was vexed.
But, not to worry. Number One is taken care of. Trump and his family, as well as close allies like Steve Witkoff and Elon Musk, have raked in billions of dollars, taking advantage of their positions of power.
And Trump is determined to leave us with monuments to his colossal bad taste, such as the White House Ballroom and the Arc de Trump.
And if he can’t have his name on the Kennedy Center, he’ll shut it down.
John Peeler is a retired professor of political science at Bucknell University. He has recently moved to Amherst.