Summary
The State Department has ended a major USAID initiative to restore Ukraine’s energy grid, which has suffered continuous Russian attacks.
The move, seen as a signal of declining U.S. support, also includes downsizing USAID’s presence in Ukraine from 64 to just 8 personnel.
Officials warn this could leave Ukraine vulnerable, especially during winter, and reduce oversight of financial aid.
Additionally, a financial sector reform program has been terminated. The decision is part of the broader Trump administration policies shifting away from strong U.S. involvement in Ukraine.
Why is it easier for you to believe some story about Trump being controlled by Russia, than to trust the evidence of your own eyes and ears, that Trump is cunt in his own right, and he’s backed bunch American billionaires, who are also cunts ?
Because we have evidence from before Trump was on the political stage that he might be a Russian agent. This has been a topic since the 1980s.
This is something that actually predates his presidential runs.
Yes - I don’t necessarily disagree. Trump is a sleaze bag and would certainly have been a target . And dare I say a fairly soft one.
It’s not ridiculous to imagine him being comprised, but I do prefer what we know ie. He’s a sleaze bag, easily controlled by the psychopaths who recognised him as the man they could a) get into power b) control with the ease that people are attributing to Putin.
Those psychopaths being Mercer, Mellon, Thiel, Musk, and even the Kochs I think.
And I don’t think those guys would do what they have done with Trump , if he was a Russia asset.
Yea I think he’s just a dick.
Why? They’re American Oligarchs. They’ve effectively recreated the economic systems in Russia, except they have the actual power, because Trump is an idiot and incapable of strategic planning unlike Putin. So while Putin is able to maintain control on his own, Trump is instead controlled by everyone around him. Exactly as the Republican party has been saying about everyone else for years, because everything they say is projection. If they constantly claim their enemies are doing the same thing without any evidence, they convince the mainstream public that doesn’t have the time, education, or desire to think critically about politics, that it doesn’t actually matter when it comes out that they’re doing it, because “The Dems have been doing it all along”.
Por Que No Los Dos?
I was worried there for a second lol.
It could also be both; Trump has ties to Russia and there have been open statements by Russian officials about Trump; specifically Patrushev saying
"The election campaign is over. To achieve success in the election, Donald Trump relied on certain forces to which he has corresponding obligations. As a responsible person, he will be obliged to fulfill them."Interesting to read, but on the balance of probability, I think it’s unlikely. Of course, anything is possible and, it’s plausible that global elite conspire for profit - but I just think it’s a too convenient blame all this bad stuff on the president of America being a Russian asset, because it’s easy to face than the idea than America is a has always been a bully on the world stage - and Trump, lacking skill and diplomacy - is merely letting us see behind the curtain.
It would be awfully convenient that Russians are openly speaking on what Trump does and does not owe to them without some kind of motive; whether or not it’s a separate “plot” or similar one I guess is up for debate though. I would have 0 issue believing that money is flowing through Russia as well. When you have billions, there aren’t too many restrictions on what you can and can’t do.
Russia, if you’re listening, go fuck yourself.
Because there is very little to be gained by those American billionaires in this issue, so why would he pull this insane stunt? There is a lot to be gained by Russia, though. There is also the constant stream of verbal praise Trump has for Putin that he doesn’t show for any other person except maybe Musk (who is the richest person on the planet).
If you systematically ask “who benefits?” for every single political thing Trump has done, the most consistent answer has always been “Russia.” Trump does things that act against Russia’s interests even more rarely than he does things that act against his own interests.
But why would they pick, support and elect their man, only to lose him to Russian kompromat? It’s just so implausible, to me at least.
In the current situation, America has given Russia a financial and military black eye, without a single dead US serviceman, with Europe paying half the bill, and they are now set to walk away with Ukraines mineral treasure, for the bargain price of giving Putin a couple of hundred miles of Ukrainian territory and agreeing to keep them out of NATO ?
How is that a good deal for anyone But America ?
What the fuck are you on about?
For the record, I do think that Putin manipulates Trump, and pretty brazenly at that, but I don’t think that he controls him. Trump’s ego is far too bloated for that.
I meant pretty much exactly what my metaphor implies - Trump is weak and insecure and desperate for affirmation, and he idolizes Putin, so he wants his approval.
AND Trump is also greedy and self-absorbed and trying to please his greedy and self-absorbed cronies and patrons - that’s painfully obviously why he’s trying to swing this mineral rights deal alongside trying to effectively hand Ukraine to Putin.
It’s possible for more than one thing to be true at the same time.
A bloated ego makes a person easier to control, not harder.
Here’s the full text of what I said, including the part you inexplicably left out:
And that’s specifically because, in point of fact, a bloated ego makes a person easier to manipulate, but not to “control.” They reflexively rebel against direct control, because it’s a threat to their ego, but they’re relatively easily manipulated, because all anyone has to do is frame things in a way that will appeal to their ego.
Did you really not grasp the distinction I was making there?
Yes I really didn’t, and it seems a little academic: both could be called forms of control.
The kind of control Putin exerts over Trump depends on Trump thinking he’s in control, when he is most obviously to anyone with eyes, not.
On the other hand, Putin control Lukashenko, and Lukashenko knows it.
Forgive me, is your position that Trump is a Russian asset, or not ?
I don’t pretend to know one way or the other.
He’s clearly working for the benefit of Russia, but “asset” implies an official, essentially employer/employee relationship, and there’s no knowing if that’s the case or not.
Not that it much matters really - whether he’s working for Russia’s benefit because they literally own him or working for Russia’s benefit because he’s a desperately insecure narcissist who idolizes Putin, it works out to pretty much the same thing in the long run.
Two things can be true
Indeed they can, but that wouldn’t be giving much credit to Mercer, Thiel, Musk, Adelson, Mellon , the Rockbridge network, Ellison etc .
I don’t think they would have backed a man controlled by Russia . I think they would have done due diligence. I credit them with the sense to do that.