In the classic 1962 Cold War movie, “The Manchurian Candidate,” a platoon of U.S. soldiers in Korea is kidnapped, drugged and brainwashed by Chinese and Russian communists. Purpose: Send an American assassin to kill the next president and install a communist puppet. That plot failed.

It is clear that today we have a Kremlin candidate in the White House. On Feb. 18, Donald Trump repeated the Putin lie that Ukraine began the war with Russia, akin to blaming a rape victim for the rape. Trump is trying to extort more than $500 billion in minerals from Ukraine, and with no security guarantees from the U.S., Zelenskyy refused.

Trump has never criticized Putin. Why? Was Russia involved with helping Trump win in 2016? Former Attorney General William Barr said no collusion in his dismantling of the Mueller report. Large questions still exist with Trump ties to Putin.

Trump, VP J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth all have talked about stopping American military help for Ukraine. Pulling out of NATO has often been alluded to. If Trump sells out Ukraine and with the European nations, with less military capacity than the U.S. and a weakened NATO, not only may Ukraine be destroyed, but what of Poland, the Baltic States, and Finland?

Millions of fleeing Ukrainians would create a massive refugee crisis. Never has an American president behaved toward Russia and parroted talking points of war criminal Putin as Trump has. Trump’s words of weakness and capitulation towards Russia may arouse China’s goal to take Taiwan. Global instability and more wars may happen.

America has certainly made mistakes in our foreign policies, but to abandon the brave Ukrainians and their fight for freedom, independence and democracy would not only be a catastrophe for Ukraine, but for America and the free world.

There must be peace but through strength. The war must end with fairness and some justice. I am afraid that the lie Trump spoke on Feb. 18 could mark another day of infamy. Ukrainians are being killed every day by bullets, shells, missiles and drones — on the front and in their cities. Ukraine was not invited to Saudi Arabia to participate in talks between Russia and the U.S.

There’s an old expression: If you are not at the table, you are on the table.

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