Mike Pompeo, secretary of State in Trump’s first administration, is of the same opinion: “President Trump is not going to allow Vladimir Putin to roll through Ukraine,” he said Monday. “Withdrawing funding from the Ukrainians would result in that, and he will be told that by his entire team. It’s not his M.O. to allow that to happen.”
The danger, though, is that Zelenskyy — also a salesman, the “greatest” in history, according to Trump — doesn’t give enough ground and Trump starts seeing Ukraine as the problem.
“President Trump is not going to allow Vladimir Putin to roll through Ukraine,” Mike Pompeo said Monday. | Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
“The Ukrainians need to make sure Trump doesn’t see them as the obstacle to peace, and they shouldn’t be the first to say no, even when some silly ideas are thrown at them. They need the Russians to keep saying no to him, so the Ukrainians appear the reasonable party. Then Trump will conclude that the only way to bring the Russians to the table is to help the Ukrainians,” the fixer told POLITICO.
But as of yet, Trump doesn’t have a detailed plan, and opinions among his advisers vary — though they do understand the military reality on the ground. Despite some media reports, Trump hasn’t yet designated a team to handle a peace initiative either. However, Ukraine is being told it will have to make serious territorial concessions, and that the prize for doing so will be 80 percent of the country remaining free and independent, said another Republican familiar with the conversations being held within MAGA circles.
So far, there’s no one tipped or announced for top national security roles in the new administration who would object to a push for such a deal. But Kyiv has been heartened there are hawks among his picks so far.
After Trump’s win, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who’s being tipped as the new secretary of State, said that Russia’s war against Ukraine had reached a “stalemate” that’s costing lives and “needs to be brought to a conclusion.” He described Ukrainians as “incredibly brave and strong,” but also noted “the reality of the war.”