What The Hell America!

President Donald Trump just made some bizarre new public statements about the Russia-Ukraine war. At one point, he seemed to get angry at Vladimir Putin over a massive new Russian attack on Ukraine, calling on Putin to “STOP!” But then, asked by a reporter what concessions Russia is making toward peace, Trump preposterously suggested that Putin is making a “pretty big concession” by refraining from taking over all of Ukraine. This is an admission that he doesn’t expect Russia to make any serious concessions at all. It badly undercuts Trump’s “master dealmaker” mystique, and wrecks the illusion he’s spun that he expects real concessions from both sides. We talked to Ben Burgis, a columnist at Jacobin and a podcaster who has a good new piece for MSNBC.com analyzing Trump’s negotiating strategy. Burgis explains why Trump’s approach is likely to be counterproductive at best—and why it could produce catastrophic long-term results. Listen to this episode here.