Why Trump's victory in U.S. presidential election could be a disaster for Ukraine
Donald Trump, who has not demonstrated strong support for Ukraine in the past, may win another term as president of the United States. He has famously claimed that he could "achieve" a resolution to Russia's war against Ukraine within 24 hours, while also suggesting he may "allow" Russia to annex portions of Ukrainian territory.
NV interviewed international experts to investigate how the possible election of Trump as U.S. president would affect Ukraine.
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How could Trump's election affect Ukraine?
Trump is predictable solely in his unpredictability. Oleksandr Kraiev, an expert at the Foreign Policy Council "Ukrainian Prism", believes that neither Ukraine nor Europe will be able to work with the businessman properly.
International lawyer Hennadiy Druzenko noted that Trump is the end of the tradition for which Ukrainians are fighting and the end of America as we know it.
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"This is actually a Russian world in American dress, in an American context, because he is unpredictable and very personalized," he said.
“This is a person who makes very subjective decisions, as we say in our tradition, on which foot he will stand. It is not institutions that play a role here, but his mood. On the one hand, he pays compliments to (Vladimir) Putin, but on the other hand, we remember who was the first to give Ukraine weapons.”
The lawyer noted that this unpredictability is the greatest danger for Ukraine and a blow to democracy: "In fact, it is a time bomb for democracy as such. This is a huge loss for democracy. It means that we are fighting on the side of the past, not the future."
Druzenko noted that despite all its problems, America remains the leader and main power of the democratic world.
"Trump is the end of America as we know it," he said.
“Well, you can make a mistake once, but if he is deliberately elected a second time... Like (Viktor) Orban, he is actually a time bomb for the European Union, only Hungary is small. And Trump's America is a huge explosive for the entire democratic world. Who will be the leader of the democratic world afterward? That's why it will be a disaster for Ukraine.”
According to the expert, Ukraine has one more or less predictable year left in which the country has to bring the war to a certain logical conclusion, because after that the state may find itself in a radically different situation.
At the same time, Kraiev said that there is an argument that could convince Trump to support Ukraine: "It's money. Because he wants to look for a profit everywhere."
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He recalled the words of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who said that supporting Ukraine is not only the right thing to do but also profitable. After all, last year alone, the U.S. defense industry created up to hundreds of thousands of new jobs thanks to orders for Ukraine placed by the Pentagon.
"So, in fact, this (money - ed.) is one of the few arguments that will allow us to work with Trump, God forbid," Kraiev added.
“But in general, I'm quite skeptical that he will even make it to the election as a politician.”
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
