Historical comparisons are always inexact. No one conflict precisely mirrors another. Yet Donald Trump’s shameless appeasement of Vladimir Putin carries more than a noxious whiff of Neville Chamberlain’s failed attempt in Munich in 1938 to head off war with Nazi Germany. To be fair to the former UK prime minister – and history largely hasn’t been – his peacemaking efforts had the enthusiastic backing of most people in Britain and France who, like him, were desperate to avoid a repeat of the horrors of the first world war. Trump enjoys no equivalent public support for his treachery. Nor does he face the prospect of a US war with Russia. His betrayal of Ukraine is cynically self-interested, globally dangerous and utterly contemptible.
US-Russian talks on agreeing the shoddy terms of a precedent-setting American sell-out of Ukraine are at an advanced stage, after meetings in St Petersburg this week. Trump has zigzagged over the war ever since returning to office. Now, panicked by record-low poll ratings, he seems determined to scapegoat Ukraine and force its de facto capitulation. Recent steps – his shocking decision to fund Putin’s war machine by buying Russian diesel, his waiving of tougher sanctions, his mysterious, lethal interruptions in US satellite and intelligence sharing with Kyiv, and his renewed attempt to oust Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy – mark Trump out as the skulking Judas, the craven Brutus of the modern age. He makes Chamberlain look like a man of iron principle. All that’s lacking is an umbrella. » | Simon Tisdall | Thursday, October 22, 2026
Donald Trump reminds me of those fools you inevitably come across from time to time in the journey of life who are convinced of their own superior intelligence and judgment, but when all is said and done, they turn out to be very foolish and devoid of even a modicum of sound judgment.
Donald Trump erinnert mich an jene Narren, denen man im Laufe des Lebens unweigerlich hin und wieder begegnet – Menschen, die von ihrer eigenen überlegenen Intelligenz und Urteilskraft überzeugt sind, sich letztlich aber als überaus töricht und völlig frei von auch nur einem Funken vernünftigen Urteilsvermögens erweisen.
Donald Trump me fait penser à ces imbéciles que l’on croise inévitablement, de temps à autre, au cours de son existence ; des individus convaincus de posséder une intelligence et un discernement supérieurs, mais qui, tout compte fait, se révèlent être d’une grande sottise et totalement dépourvus du moindre bon sens. — © Mark Alexander
