In an exposed moment of disappointed pique on Friday, the Wannabe Dictator acknowledged the extension of his impressive string of diplomatic goose-eggs. The actual quote was, “There is no deal until there is a deal.” Which sounds a whole lot like the theme of his infamous book. Trust the egoist to quote himself as an authority.
Putin’s Bottom Line
There never was going to be a deal. Putin has certain territorial objectives. He’s having trouble attaining them. His bottom line is that if they are given to him, he’ll stop. At least, for the moment. He also wants the democratically elected government of Ukraine replaced with an appointed one favourable to Russia.
In other words, “Let me win the war and I’ll stop fighting.” A nice trade for a million dead and wounded Russian soldiers. The only way Russia is going to quit fighting is a win or a power shift in the Kremlin. As with all his type, Putin is willing to trade future pain for short-term gain. The true cost of the war will not hit the Russian people until long after it’s over, and the debts come home to roost, the piper submits his bill, and any other metaphor you want to contribute.
The Real Bottom Line
Trump continues his bait-and-switch technique, always proposing some new grand objective to distract from his latest failures (Epstein File, for one. He also had to abandon his bid this week to take over the Washington, DC police force).
The true cost of all this to Americans might, if they are lucky, appear soon enough to affect the mid-term elections.
But I’m not holding my breath.
PS
The scary part: what were all those little things that Putin and Trump did agree on?