Republican Russophilia: How Trump Putin-ised a Party of Cold War Hawks

THE GUARDIAN: The idea of Moscow as a paragon of Christian nationalism has penetrated the party of Reagan – and the lurch in US policy has huge implications for the global order

In speech that ran for 100 minutes there was one moment when Donald Trump drew more applause from Democrats than Republicans. As the president told Congress last week how the US had sent billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine, his political opponents clapped and unfurled a Ukrainian flag – while his own party sat in stony silence.

It was a telling insight into Republicans’ transformation, in the space of a generation, from a party of cold war hawks to one of “America first” isolationists. Where Trump has led, many Republicans have obediently followed, all the way into the embrace of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin – with huge implications for the global democratic order.

“The reversal is dramatic and the willingness of the Republican party to go along with it continues to be breathtaking,” said Charlie Sykes, a political commentator and author of How the Right Lost Its Mind. “At least for a while it appeared that Republicans were still going to be supportive of Ukraine. But now that Trump has completely reversed our foreign policy there seems to be very little pushback.” » | David Smith in Washington | Saturday, March 15, 2025

Putin Is ‘Feeling Good’: Brennan Reacts to Kremlin Saying D.C. Now ‘Largely Aligns’ with Them

Mar 3, 2025 | A U.S. official confirms that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Pentagon to halt offensive cyber operations against Russia. Former CIA Director John Brennan joins Chris Jansing to share his insight.

Washington Now ‘Largely Aligns’ with Moscow’s Vision, Kremlin Says

THE WASHINGTON POST: Tension between the United States and Ukraine, laid bare in the Oval Office meeting of Trump and Zelensky, is seen in Moscow as a “gift.”

MOSCOW — The Trump administration’s rewrite of decades of U.S. foreign policy on Russia, laid bare in the Oval Office confrontation between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, is bringing Washington into alignment with Moscow, the Kremlin said Sunday — a shift that could upend the geopolitics that have governed international relations since World War II.

“The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, state television reported Sunday. “This largely aligns with our vision.”

Moscow’s vision, which has focused on a push to reclaim influence over much or all of the former Soviet Union and defeat liberal democracy, has made Russia a pariah to the West. The United States has given over a hundred billion dollars in arms and aid to Ukraine since Russia’s unprovoked invasion in 2022. Washington led allies in imposing new sanctions on Moscow; the International Criminal Court issued a warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin on charges of war crimes.

But on Sunday, as European leaders rallied behind Zelensky in London, Peskov said the administration’s new approach could herald a new thaw between Washington and Moscow. » | Francesca Ebel | Sunday, March 2, 2025

Kremlin Says US Foreign Policy Pivot ‘Largely Coincides with Our Vision’

THE GUARDIAN: Russia’s foreign minister also praises Donald Trump for his ‘commonsense’ aim to end the war in Ukraine

The Kremlin said on Sunday that the dramatic pivot in the foreign policy of the US “largely” coincides with its own vision, with Donald Trump described as having “common sense”.

The US president, who has often said he respects his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, has worked to build ties with Moscow since taking office in January, including twice siding with Russia in UN votes.

“The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations,” the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told a reporter from state television. “This largely coincides with our vision.”

Peskov added: “There is a long way to go, because there is huge damage to the whole complex of bilateral relations. But if the political will of the two leaders, President Putin and President Trump, is maintained, this path can be quite quick and successful.”

Peskov made the comments on Wednesday but they were only made public on Sunday, two days after Trump defended Putin during a fiery clash with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the Oval Office on Friday. » | Angela Giuffrida and agencies | Sunday, March 2, 2025

The Observer View on the Trump-Zelenskyy Clash: A Moment of Dark Reckoning

THE OBSERVER – EDITORIAL: With or without the US, Europe must learn to defend itself, and Ukraine, against Russian aggression

he treatment of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, by the US president, Donald Trump, during what appears to have been a staged confrontation in the White House in front of the world’s press, marks one of the most profoundly shocking moments in US diplomacy in decades.

In this crass and deeply disturbing performance, the wartime leader of a democratic European country that is fighting against an illegal invasion by Russia, which has seen its citizens killed and cities bombed indiscriminately, was subjected to a vicious, ignorant and mendacious attack that was designed to humiliate.

Many watching the antics of Trump and his vice-president, JD Vance – and the subsequent cheerleading from their far-right political allies – will have been sickened by what they saw: an American president channelling the words of Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. In the cold light of the day that has followed, the world – and Europe in particular – has woken to the most uncomfortable of realities.

The US, the country that has styled itself the indispensable nation, has aligned itself with the enemies of peace and democracy. If “America first” marks simply a shattering moment of US isolationism not seen since the run-up to America’s entry into the Second World War, this would be devastating enough. But, as they gather in London tomorrow, European leaders, Keir Starmer among them, must recognise that the contours of European and global security have been transformed. » | Observer editorial | Saturday, March 1, 2025

Reagan-era Republicans aghast as Trump turns Russia policy on its head: Officials who served in 1980s say Trump is opposing friends and supporting enemies: ‘It makes me sick what’s going on’ »

How JD Vance emerged as the chief saboteur of the transatlantic alliance: Vance snaked his way in first to the row between Trump and Zelenskyy, his second intrusion this month after Munich »

Starmer plays royal card as he tiptoes around the madness of King Donald: The British prime minister is the latest would-be Trump whisperer from Europe to butter up a capricious president »

UK gives royal welcome to Zelenskyy after White House meltdown: King Charles to hold official audience for Ukrainian president as show of support after Trump clash »

‘Bewildering’: US media and politicians react to Trump’s televised attack on Zelenskyy: The showdown between the US president and the Ukrainian leader dumbfounded various outlets and politicos »

Candace Owens and Vladimir Soloviev Speak on How Trump Is Upending US Foreign Policy

Feb 27, 2025 | During his campaign, Donald Trump vowed to upend US foreign policy, even if it meant breaking long-standing norms. Now, he’s following through. This week, the US voted twice alongside Russia at the UN, marking the third anniversary of the Ukraine war. Trump has also publicly called out NATO allies, threatened the EU with tariffs, and even blamed Ukraine for starting the war. His statements have sent shockwaves not just across the Atlantic, but through Washington itself. This past week, Trump hosted the leaders of France, the UK, and Ukraine at the White House. His meeting with Emmanuel Macron saw the two clash publicly over how to handle the war. These talks come amid a flurry of diplomatic activity, including US-Russia negotiations in Riyadh and Turkiye hosting both the Ukrainian president and Russian foreign minister just days apart. Ankara has reaffirmed its commitment to peace efforts, offering to host future negotiations and support diplomatic solutions. So how will ties between Washington and Moscow play out in the coming months, and what role could Ankara play, given its close ties with both countries.

Welcome to Trump and Putin's Brave New World

THE MOSCOW TIMES – OPINION: This has been the week when everything changed.

From U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth’s comments about NATO and Ukraine, through Vice President J.D. Vance’s explosive speech to the Munich Security Conference, to Tuesday’s U.S.-Russia talks and President Donald Trump’s press conference, the new U.S. administration has signaled the most dramatic reorientation of American foreign policy since the Second World War.

Trump’s desire to disengage from NATO and develop good relations with the Kremlin was obvious during his first presidency. But he was unable to do either. In his second term, he is surrounded by individuals who share these views – most importantly, Elon Musk — and by others, such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who have been willing to pivot away from their previous views on the need to oppose Russia and support Ukraine.

The Trump administration has made it clear that they see the NATO alliance as a burden, not a strength, that values no longer connect the U.S. and Europe, and that, in any case, values are less important than hard power.

Their approach to Ukraine has been even more stark. Although the details of a Trump “deal” on Ukraine are still unclear, the administration has cut Ukraine out of talks about the war, seemingly expected Ukraine to sacrifice territory, give up its NATO aspirations, and tried to force Kyiv to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in rare earth mineral rights in exchange for previous aid and the vague suggestion of some type of security assistance in the future. In shameful comments after the U.S.-Russia meeting on Tuesday, Trump appeared to blame Ukraine for the war inflicted on it.

In contrast, the White House appears not to require any concessions from Moscow. Instead, they are keen to normalize relations to develop “economic and investment opportunities” and to see Russia accepted back into the G7/G8. The scrapping of some or all sanctions seems likely. The Trump administration increasingly looks as if it is aligning itself with Russia — against Ukraine and perhaps even against the rest of the West.

This unprecedented change in Washington’s view of the world — and of the U.S.’s role in it — is transforming Europe and the global balance of power. » | Ruth Deyermond | Thursday, February 20, 2025

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Trump's Problems Mount as He Turns His Back on Allies | Anne Applebaum

Feb 25, 2025 | “Trump has a number of problems that he doesn’t know how to solve."

Trump adds to his problems as he reshapes American foreign policy by abandoning his allies, says staff writer at the Atlantic Anne Applebaum.

Elon Musk Seen as Working Counter to US Interests in Dealings with Russia, China

Sep 12, 2023 | Elon Musk's financial interests put him in a position of having his own personal foreign policy, but new reporting shows that whether it's manufacturing in China or the Starlink network being used by Ukraine, Musk's decisions can run counter to stated U.S. policy.

Related articles here.

« Elon Musk », la biographie qui décrit un multimilliardaire en visionnaire brutal, rongé par la colère et le doute : CRITIQUE Le livre de Walter Isaacson, sorti mercredi en France, est une lecture passionnante, moins pour ses « grandes révélations » – il y en a finalement assez peu – que pour la couleur résolument sombre qu’il donne à son personnage. »

Putin Accuses West of ‘Coming with Its Missiles to Our Doorstep’

THE GUARDIAN: Russian president again voices anger at Nato expansion and says he would be prepared to intervene in Ukraine

‘They keep telling us: war, war, war’: Vladimir Putin during the press conference on Thursday.Photograph: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images
Vladimir Putin has accused the west of “coming with its missiles to our doorstep” as he reiterated demands for no further Nato expansion in Europe.

The Russian president did little to reduce tensions over Ukraine as he spoke at a televised press conference, saying he would be prepared to launch an intervention if he felt Ukraine or its western allies were preparing an attack on Russia’s proxies in the country.

“They keep telling us: war, war, war,” Putin said on Thursday. “There is an impression that, maybe, they are preparing for the third military operation [in Ukraine] and give us a fair warning: do not intervene, do not protect these people but if you do intervene and protect them, there will be new sanctions. Perhaps, we should prepare for that.” » | Andrew Roth in Moscow | Thursday, December 23, 2021

With the US Becoming a Less Reliable Ally, Britain Needs to Make Friends in Europe

THE GUARDIAN: Britain urgently needs to repair its relations with its neighbours but Boris Johnson’s government is singularly ill-equipped to do so

Boris Johnson with Joe Biden at the G7 summit in June. ‘The display of beach bonhomie looks all the more phoney after the US president’s brutal refusal to consult Britain over Afghanistan.’ Photograph: Leon Neal/PA
After the rout, the recriminations. British fingers furiously jab at the Americans for a shaming scuttle from Kabul that will embolden the west’s adversaries. Sir John Major yesterday called the withdrawal of western forces a “strategically very stupid” decision. Tony Blair, the prime minister who sent British forces into Afghanistan 20 years ago, goes so far as to call the precipitous exit “imbecilic”. Number 10 has been forced to deny that Boris Johnson refers to the US president as “Sleepy Joe”, the insult minted by Donald Trump. Supporters of Joe Biden counter-accuse the British and other European countries of expecting the US to continue to expend its blood and treasure in Afghanistan when most Nato members had wound down their commitments long ago.

In Whitehall, an ugly three-way blame game rages between the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Home Office about why the government didn’t anticipate the swiftness of the fall of Kabul or make timely preparations to help vulnerable people to whom Britain owes obligations. We’d be in a better place if they’d devoted as much energy to planning for the evacuation as they are expending on excoriating each other. There will be more finger pointing when the Commons returns tomorrow. Yet it is not buck-passing between politicians desperate to save their careers that this country needs if anything useful is to be learned from this debacle. What is required is a cool reassessment of where this leaves Britain in a perilous and unpredictable world.

This humiliating episode has shattered assumptions that have been central to elite thinking about foreign policy. That was very evident when the Policy Exchange thinktank convened a panel of speakers who were notable for their credentials and their anxieties about the future. Sir Mark Sedwill, the former cabinet secretary who also served as national security adviser, was certain that the return of Taliban rule would have an “inspirational” effect on jihadists that will fuel terrorism worldwide. Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative MP who served in Afghanistan and chairs the foreign affairs select committee, worried that we have moved closer to a hot conflict between America and China because Beijing will read the west’s defeat as an encouragement to flex its muscles more aggressively. I was also struck by a contribution from George Robertson, who was defence secretary during New Labour’s first term and Nato general secretary at the time of 9/11. He has always been staunchly in the Labour Atlanticist tradition established by Clement Attlee and Ernest Bevin after the Second World War. It was arresting to hear such a vigorous champion of the alliance with America as Lord Robertson suggest that Britain and other Europeans would have to do more for themselves “to keep our people safe” because “we cannot any longer rely on the American umbrella being there in all situations at all times”. » | Andrew Rawnsley | Sunday, September 5, 2021

This is what I wrote on the matter yesterday. Read my thoughts here. We are being led by clowns and fools! – Mark

‘Trapped in Hell’: Kabul Airport Chaos Casts Doubt on US Promise of Safe Evacuation

THE OBSERVER: There is no coherent system, and those who do make it to the airport face days stuck waiting to board flights

People wait at the airport in Kabul. The US has no figure for the exact number of people who need evacuating.Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
In a voice quivering with fear and exhaustion, Sara pleaded down the phone: “Please, get us out of here. The situation is very bad, we are trapped in a hell.”

For the past four days, Sara, who asked for her real name not to be used, has waited with her family among the thousands of people outside the gates of Kabul airport, desperately trying to board a US evacuation flight.

In the past few days, she said she had seen more than 15 people, including children, shot before her eyes, witnessed her uncle beaten brutally by Taliban fighters and had her nights on the hard street outside the airport gates interrupted by crowd surges and the panic-inducing crack of gunfire.

The crowds were packed in so tightly it was hard to breathe, and people had been trampled to death, she said, adding that the putrid stench of rubbish was getting worse by the day. They had run out of food and water. “My mental state is completely broken,” said Sara.

Sara and her four family members have all been issued US visas for evacuation from Afghanistan and received instructions in a letter from the US consul to go directly to Camp Sullivan, the US military base at Kabul airport, on 18 August. They were told to be prepared to wait hours, and bring bedding with them. But when they arrived on Wednesday, they found thousands blocking the entrance, and all the gates closed. They have not opened for them, and there has been no further information.

“No one is allowed through, even with visas,” she said. “No one from the US is helping us. No one is telling us which gate to go to – we don’t even know when the US flights are leaving. There is violence everywhere but every gate we go to is closed and no one gives us any information or shows any mercy.” » | Hannah Ellis-Petersen, South Asia correspondent | Saturday, August 21, 2021

Biden Seeks to Sideline Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

THE GUARDIAN: The new US administration has signalled it expects the desert kingdom to ‘change its approach’ in a break with Trump policy

The Biden administration has said it expects Saudi Arabia to “change its approach” to the US and signalled that it wants to minimise any direct contact between the president and the country’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The stance marks an abrupt change compared with the Trump administration, which showered the young heir with attention and praise. It comes as intelligence officials are preparing to release – possibly as early as next week – a declassified report to Congress that will describe its assessment of the crown prince’s alleged culpability in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the US-based Washington Post journalist who was killed by Saudi officials in 2018.

The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, this week said Joe Biden intended to “recalibrate” the US relationship with Saudi Arabia, and considered King Salman – not Prince Mohammed – to be his counterpart. While the designation might technically be true, the 35-year-old prince is widely seen as running Saudi Arabia and has direct relations with other foreign leaders. » | Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington | Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Mike Pompeo Claims without Evidence That Iran Is Al-Qaida's New 'Home Base'

THE GUARDIAN: Move seems designed to restrict Biden administration’s options as secretary of state confirms killing of al-Qaida leader in August

The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has claimed, without providing evidence, that al-Qaida leaders have established a new “home base” in the Iran, in what appeared to be his latest effort to raise the political cost of the next administration reviving the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.

Speaking with just eight days left in office, Pompeo alleged that Iran was “the new Afghanistan”, telling a news conference in Washington: “Unlike in Afghanistan, when al-Qaida was hiding in the mountains, al-Qaida today is operating under the hard shell of the Iranian regime’s protection.” » | Julian Borger in Washington | Tuesday, January 12, 2021

This assertion appears to be manifestly absurd! Al-Qaeda is a Sunni terrorist group. Iran is Shia. Sunnis and Shiites hate each other with a vengeance. This alone makes Pompeo’s assertion highly unlikely to be true. Pompeo is playing to people’s ignorance. He, in his position, should know better than this. The man needs to go back to school! – ©Mark Alexander

Will President-elect Joe Biden Change US Foreign Policy? | Inside Story

After days of uncertainty and a hard fought, bitter campaign, Joe Biden has been declared the winner of the US Presidential election. He says he wants to restore the soul of America and unite a deeply divided nation.

Biden received more votes than any other presidential candidate in history. But he's appealed to the tens of millions of Americans who did not vote for him - to give him a chance.

After his victory in Pennsylvania, Biden is projected to have a majority of the Electoral College votes needed to win the White House.<

How Will the Biden Presidency Impact US Foreign Relations? | US election 2020

Many European leaders are hoping Joe Biden will help repair the transatlantic ties that have been strained under the Trump presidency. So what is a Biden administration likely to do for relations with Europe and the rest of the world?

Fareed Zakaria: Here's the Problem with Trump's Foreign Policy

CNN's Fareed Zakaria explains the impact of President Donald Trump's actions in the Middle East.

Fareed Zakaria: Trump's Foreign Policy Is In Shambles

President Donald Trump claimed he was a great dealmaker, but after the collapse of deals with Iran, North Korea and the Taliban, has that claim been proven otherwise?

Donald Trump’s Reckless Iran Policy Casts Doubt on the US as Global Leader

THE GUARDIAN: Washington’s European allies need to ask themselves whether the US government has become a dangerous liability

Irrespective of whether Iran is responsible for the recent attacks on Gulf shipping, the crisis now unfolding is fundamentally one manufactured out of thin air by the Trump administration. The implications go beyond the threat of a major war and consequent worldwide economic crash. Donald Trump’s reckless, incoherent Iran policy also throws into question the viability of the role of the United States as the global leader.

The US achieved its hegemonic status in the world system not simply through raw strength, but also by convincing the second-tier capitalist powers that it could manage that system in their interests as well as its own. Washington could be relied on to confront and put down challenges to the capitalist order, expand and deepen its reach, and handle crises as they arose. It was through responsible management of the system in the interests of western capital and state power more broadly (if not of humanity as a whole) that the US secured consent from its allies to lead this new form of empire. » | David Wearing | Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Old Grudges, New Weapons… Is the US on the Brink of War with Iran?

THE OBSERVER: While American hawks talk up an ‘imminent’ threat from Tehran with no hard evidence, echoing the start of the Iraq conflict, hardliners are in the ascendant in Iran

For better or worse, America remains the world’s leading military superpower. In Washington last week, a familiar row erupted over how best that power should be used. Past targets have included Soviet Russia, al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Today the international bogeyman topping the White House’s to-do list is Iran.

Once again the US is in the process of deciding whether to go to war. As always, it is a tangled, messy and dishonest business. On one side, favouring punitive action, stand the Iran hawks. They include neoconservative retreads such as John Bolton, Donald Trump’s national security adviser, who championed the 2003 Iraq invasion; Mike Pompeo, a former CIA director and Christian evangelical who heads the state department; and Mike Pence, the ascetic US vice-president.

On the other side, opposing escalation, stand Democratic party leaders in Congress and a clutch of presidential hopefuls; sceptical Pentagon generals and security agency officials who trust Bolton as far as they can toss an IED; a majority of Washington’s more important allies in the EU and Nato; and China and Russia, which oppose American global power-plays on principle. » | Simon Tisdall | Saturday, May 18, 2019