Even a Broken Clock is Right Two Times a Day: Trump at the U.N. and Regarding Russia

Most of us who are parents strive to instill moral values in our children through our words and by our actions. We want our kids to grow up to become people of integrity who are honest, compassionate, humble and kind. If we catch them lying, we call them out. If they bully others, we stop them. We do not allow our sons to treat women as objects. Yesterday, at the United Nations General Assembly, our president’s worst behavior was on full display: arrogance (about individually ending “unendable” wars), lying (about inflation and climate change), racism (uncontrolled migration from “undesirable” countries), hypocrisy (denouncing rape yet himself being convicted of sexual assault), and bullying (forcing other countries like El Salvador to become complicit in our sins). I was ashamed and embarrassed by our president’s words.

Then, Trump had a side conversation with Ukraine’s President Zelensky. He later made some pronouncements that were shocking, a complete about face regarding Russia’s war against Ukraine. After being “broken” during his speech to the UN, Trump’s moral clock was on time and accurate for a few fleeting moments. In a media post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump said that he now believed that Ukraine could, with financial support from NATO and the European Union, regain all of the territory it had lost to Russia, including Crimea! This comment by Trump was a radical change considering that only a month ago the president had endorsed a plan that would force Ukraine to give up parts of their territory in exchange for peace. Then Trump added that Putin’s Russia was a “paper tiger” (Putin responded last night that his Russia was not a paper tiger, but a real bear.) It seems that Trump is slowly waking up to the terrible truth that Putin has been “playing” him with his “on again, off again” agreement/refusal ta meet for peace talks with Ukraine’s Zelensky.

I wish Mr. Trump well in his role of international mediator. Although he did not bring about peace on Day One as he had campaigned, he still has time to help end this war. He needs to grow some backbone and, together with our European allies, apply economic sanctions against Russia. Mr. President, there is still a bit of time to make the right moral decision. Do it!

Grading Trump on His Performance in the Summit: Using His Own Criteria, He did not Pass the Test

I give President Trump credit for organizing and attending the summit with “president” Putin. But giving Trump a grade on his performance at the summit, Trump failed the test.

Here are the criteria that Trump himself provided for evaluating the summit.

When the Putin-Trump meeting was first announced, it was hailed as a major breakthrough. Nevertheless, in the days leading up to their talk, the White House lowered expectations. A three-hour meeting in Alaska would not immediately end the war in Ukraine, but it would be considered a “success”, if Trump could arrange a “second meeting” in which he would moderate and Putin and Zelensky would settle their differences. No such “second meeting” has been announced nor appears on the horizon, but Zelensky is scheduled to come to the White House on Monday. Hope springs eternal?
This week Trump did affirm to Bret Baier of Fox News that, at the very least, a successful summit would result in a ceasefire. No ceasefire has been announced…yet.
Trump said there would be a joint press conference in which he and Putin would field questions from the international press. The press gathering lasted only 12 minutes, no questions were allowed, and the session was abruptly ended. Putin then turned the tables on Trump by giving him an invitation to meet the next time in Moscow.
Although Trump said they had a very productive meeting, no specifics were provided. Later, he conceded, “we haven’t gotten there”.
Even Trump’s supporters were disappointed in his performance. Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich offered a brutal, eye-witness assessment of the awkward and confusing joint press conference fiasco. “We were told we would have an opportunity to put questions to both leaders after a joint press conference in the event the meeting went well enough that they could set the stage for a second meeting, And President Trump said if that didn’t happen, he was likely to call off the joint presser and just address the media solo and send people home. Neither of those things happened. And what was really stunning to me as someone who has been in a lot of these press conferences was a few things that were very unusual,” she said. “You had Putin come out and address the press first. We are on U.S. soil here. And that left the media scrambling to get their headsets in. Usually, it is the leader of the country — the host country of a summit that speaks first and addresses. Putin started off in Russian. And we all had to get our heads set on and listen to him rattle off the diatribe about the history of the U.S. and Russia. The way that it felt in the room was not good,” she reported. “It did not seem like things went well, and it seemed like Putin came in and steamrolled, got right into what he wanted to say. And got his photo next to the president and then left. Of course, that is only the piece of the picture that we have right now, and certainly President Trump, who is the host and who is, the president, would not want to, I think, enable something that would make him look weak.” Contrast her analysis with Trump’s grading himself as a perfect 10.
Putin did not make any concessions. Is he still “playing” Trump, by pretending to be open to peace negotiations, but not willing to follow through? James Stavridis, former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, called Putin’s handling of our president a “rope a dope” experience.

Although Trump did not pass this mid-term exam, he has not totally failed the course. If he studies harder and works on his negotiating skills (such as using economic pressure to force Putin to make concessions), he can still get a passing grade. In fact, if he brokers a deal between Putin and Zelensky that Ukraine finds acceptable, I might even consider supporting his desire of winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump will Meet with Putin: Strong Prayer for a Weak President

Donald Trump is scheduled to have a summit meeting tomorrow with Russian “president” Vladimir Putin to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine. Although I applaud Trump for meeting with the Russian leader, I do not hold out much hope for this summit. Ending a needless war that has killed thousands of people (both soldiers and innocent civilians) is a noble, valiant goal. But to be totally truthful, Trump is in a weak position before a formidable foe. Trump himself has lowered the expectations for their meeting. He now calls it a “listening” event which might lead to a second more important meeting. In spite of being the president of the most powerful country in the world, and in spite of all his bravado and bullying, Trump is quite weak. Here’s the evidence:

Trump’s irrational praise of Putin – over the last decade, Trump has praised authoritarian rulers all over the world, both present and past (China’s Xi, Hitler, etc.) Trump has been quite lavish in his admiration for Putin. In his book “Time to Get Tough,” Trump wrote, “Putin has big plans for Russia. He wants to edge out its neighbors so that Russia can dominate oil supplies to all of Europe. Putin has also announced his grand vision: the creation of a ‘Eurasian Union’ made up of former Soviet nations that can dominate the region. I respect Putin.” Yet in his more thoughtful moments, Trump has recognized that Putin has “played” him.
Trump’s weakness with the Truth – I do not intend any cheap criticism of the president, but he has had a troubled relationship with the truth. Just two weeks ago, he didn’t like the job report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Instead of admitting responsibility for his failed economic policies, Trump fired the BLS director. He claimed he won the 2024 election in a landslide. In fact, he received less than 50% of the vote. These are just two examples of how the president invents a false reality instead of dealing with the real world. I believe, as Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free”. If Jesus was right, then Trump’s preference for untruths means he is neither very free nor powerful.
Trump’s exaggerated estimation of his own abilities – The president campaigned on ending the war in Ukraine on “Day 1” of his presidency. That did not happen. He also claimed he would bring inflation down below zero percent. He was wrong. The July inflation report that was issued this past Tuesday shows the annual core inflation rate moved up to 3.1%. Realism and maturity demand that we all have a sober estimate of our own abilities. Trump is weaker than he thinks.
Trump’s approval rate is underwater. Most major polls place his approval ratings between 37% and 44% with his disapproval ratings much higher. He is down even on his stronger issues, like immigration and the economy. His weakest areas refer to his handling of the Epstein files, his policies regarding tariffs, and the “Big, Beautiful Bill” tax legislation.
Trump’s concessions to Putin do not bode well for the summit. Trump has already conceded everything but the kitchen sink which greatly harms Ukraine. Most democracies in the world consider Putin to be the guilty invader of its neighbor Ukraine. Putin is a pariah and is prohibited from even visiting their countries. Nevertheless, Trump is elevating Putin on the international stage, by granting him a summit on U.S. soil. They will be talking about Ukraine’s future, yet Ukraine’s president Zelensky was not even invited to participate. Trump has announced a “swapping” of territory (readers beware: Ukraine would give up land to Russia, not vice-versa). Ukraine would not be able to join NATO…and on and on and on. Later, if Zelensky does not accept these concessions, he is the “problem”, not Putin.

Given these varied weaknesses, many Americans believe it would take a miracle for the summit to be successful. True peacemaking needs divine intervention and this includes “strong” prayer. The emphasis is on the word “strong”, not the questionable religiosity of the phrase “God bless America” that many politicians use to close their political speeches. No, strong prayer does not ask God to bless our fallen plans and actions. Strong prayer can happen because the All-Powerful, All-Wise God invites fallen people to humble themselves and become active participants in making human history through their prayers and their actions. The Apostle Paul encouraged fellow believers to pray for all persons, especially for kings and those in authority so that people could live in peace. (I Timothy 2:1-3).

There is a certain amount of mystery regarding prayer. Does it depend on God? Yes, of course it does. Does it depend on those who pray? Yes, to some extent. Does it depend on those who are prayed for? Yes. Somehow their human wills need to become aligned with God’s will being done on earth as it is done in heaven. Humility is essential. People need to humble themselves in a variety of ways.

People who don’t agree with Trump need to humble themselves and to pray for a leader they perceive as wrong.
People who do agree with Trump also need to humble themselves and to pray that their president repent of his arrogance and especially his political sins that harm the world.
Trump needs to humble himself and to ask God to show him ways to become a better peacemaker and wisdom and courage to promote a just peace.
Putin needs to humble himself and to repent of his invasion of Ukraine and the thousands of human deaths he has caused.

Readers:

If you consider yourself a person of faith, pray and live out your faith with love, justice and grace.
If you do not see yourself as a person of faith, may you live your life according to your highest ideals.
If any of the information I mentioned is inaccurate, let me know.

I Applaud President Trump for (Finally) Waking Up and Seeing the Evil of Putin

During his first term, Donald Trump and Russian “President” Vladimir Putin had a relationship of mutual praise. Trump admired Putin for being a “strong leader”. Trump justified Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, by asserting that Biden’s weakness had, in effect, “invited” Putin to invade. Trump lamented the loss of life in the war in Ukraine and campaigned that he would end the war on “Day One” by bringing Putin to negotiations. Regarding Putin, Trump affirmed five months ago, “I believe he wants peace, I mean, I know him very well. Yeah, I think he wants peace.… I trust him on this subject.”

Even though Trump’s envoys favored Russia in the preliminary peace talks and Trump humiliated Ukraine’s President Zelensky in their White House meeting, Putin didn’t cooperate in good faith. Although Putin said he wanted peace, what he really wanted was to take over control of all of Ukraine. In an unguarded moment, Trump admitted he was getting “played” by Putin. Something significantly changed a few weeks ago. Trump started to wake up. He began to see Putin for who he really was: a murdering tyrant and an aggressor. In a press conference, Trump was asked a question by a female reporter. Noting her accent, he asked her where she was from. She replied, “Ukraine”. She added that her husband was still in their home country. Remarkably, Trump seemed to show sincere empathy for her situation. He began to perceive the tragic reality about Putin that many saw a decade ago. Did Marco Rubio whisper the truth into his ear? Maybe.

After days of expressing anger with his latest phone call with Putin, Trump erupted at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. He said, “We get a lot of bullsh*t thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice all of the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.” There’s a bill going through the Senate that would apply economic sanctions on Russia that has the overwhelming support of Republicans and Democrats. The president seems to like the bill as long as it doesn’t tie his hands.

Where should we put the emphasis? That Trump woke up to the truth regarding the evil of Putin OR that it took him so long to wake up? I am just glad that he seems to be awake now. Perhaps we are a bit closer to peace in Ukraine. PS. On Monday, Trump will give a major address on Russia.

The War in Ukraine: A Bit of Hope, but is Trump Getting “Played” by Putin?

Yesterday, U.S. President Trump and Russian “President” Putin had a lengthy (roughly two hours) phone conversation with the goal of ending the war in Ukraine. I do not fault Trump with reaching out to an authoritarian world leader who is guilty of war crimes (according to the International Criminal Court). I do raise concerns about Russia taking advantage of Trump’s lack of leverage in these negotiations. These conversations already have a history, including Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky in the White House and talks between Russian and U.S. envoys. In these preliminaries, Trump has made several unnecessary and unhelpful concessions to Putin:

Trump falsely accused Zelensky of starting the war and Trump defended Putin against charges of being the aggressor (in the UN vote)
Trump affirmed that Russia would be awarded some land in eastern Ukraine
Ukraine would not be allowed to join NATO

By giving up these concessions up front, the United States has lost its leverage in these talks.

The Good News: Yesterday, Putin agreed to a 30-day limited cease-fire in which Russia would stop strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as long as Ukraine did the same. Putin also agreed to a significant prisoner exchange for later this month.

The Bad News: Putin did NOT agree to a complete 30-day cease-fire. To advance the negotiations, the U.S. cannot provide additional military assistance or intelligence information to Ukraine. Ukraine cannot send more troops to the front. These and other demands are totally unacceptable to Ukraine (and to our European allies).

The Results: Putin gives the impression that he is open and eager to end the war. In fact, he is stalling. Every day the war continues, Russia takes more territory. Trump’s peace initiatives will not be successful, because Putin is not acting in good faith. It sure looks like Trump, the author of “The Art of the Deal”, is getting “played” by Putin.

What can Trump do? He must regain leverage over Putin. He should impose new financial sanctions on Russia. These sanctions can be used as “bargaining chips” which can later be withdrawn if Putin removes his unreasonable demands.

The War in Ukraine: A Bit of Hope, but is Trump Getting “Played” by Putin?

Trump falsely accused Zelensky of starting the war and Trump defended Putin against charges of being the aggressor (by siding with Russian, North Korea, etc. in the UN vote)
Trump affirmed that Russia would be awarded some land in eastern Ukraine
Ukraine would not be allowed to join NATO

By giving these concessions up front, the United States has lost its leverage in these talks.

Trump’s Plan to End the War in Ukraine: Concessions and Non-negotiables

On the campaign trail, Trump promised that he would end the war in Ukraine BEFORE he took office on January 20. Of course, no sane person believed that promise and of course, Trump did not fulfill his pledge. Nevertheless, Trump does deserve some credit for attempting to end the war. Last night, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian “president” Putin in a preliminary meeting to suggest a temporary ceasefire. It is in everyone’s interest (Ukraine, Russia, United States, Europe) for this war to end and a “just peace” to emerge in which both Ukraine and Russia are in agreement with the terms.

This will not be easy. A poll came out overnight in which 59% of Americans believe that a just peace is unlikely or very doubtful. Both countries have non-negotiables and both sides will have to make significant concessions. Here are the most important issues.

Territory integrity – I believe Ukraine is right in demanding territory integrity, that is, the boundaries be the same as prior to the war: Russian occupied lands in eastern Ukraine should be returned. Although Ukraine would also like Crimea to be returned, this wish list item might need to be sacrificed. One option is for the United Nations to study and vote on the status of Crimea some time in the intermediate future.

Membership in NATO – Ukraine wants to join NATO for its future security. Of course, Russia does not want an additional large, NATO member as its next-door neighbor for its own security reasons. Although desiring to join NATO is a legitimate goal, I would be willing to see this deferred for 5-10 years in order for a peace agreement to take place.

Putin’s Responsibility – It is obviously clear to sane people that Putin started this war. He was the aggressor. His reckless invasion has caused the deaths of many thousands of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers and civilians. Justice requires that Putin make some financial remuneration for the deaths that he caused and for the rebuilding of Ukraine. It is doubtful that Putin would admit any guilt. Tyrants seldom acknowledge any mistakes. (Trump knows this all too well.) My suggestion is that Europe and the United States magnanimously and jointly offer to pay for much of the rebuilding of Ukraine. This would be a more economical option than continuing to finance an unnecessary war.

Trump has chosen a difficult challenge: Bringing about a just peace. I hope he can achieve the “art of the deal”.

Woe to those who Call Evil Good and Good Evil: Putin and Trump

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the prophet Isaiah warned his people, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” (Isaiah 5:20) He was speaking God’s truth to a people who saw a moral crisis taking place in their times. Religious and political leaders were making moral pronouncements that made a mockery of God’s universal set of ethics based upon the legal equality of every human being, because all have been created in God’s image. Isaiah rightly denounced these immoral leaders as hypocrites who distorted God’s social ethics to further their own self-centered interests.

In this post, I want to consider evil actions that Russian “president” Vladimir Putin has committed and identify some of those U.S. leaders who are now enabling him. Putin is a war criminal. His evil actions were obvious when he was a KGB operative decades ago and his actions have gone from bad to worse. In early 2014 he sent his troops to invade the Crimean Peninsula which belonged to Ukraine. Russian troops occupied the Crimean Parliament and called for a referendum for Crimea’s “independence” which they rigged to win. The international community spoke with one voice to condemn this invasion and theft. The United Nations General Assembly rejected the referendum and annexation, and officially recognized the “the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders”. In addition, the members of the G8 kicked Putin and Russia out of this organization of world leaders.

Three years ago, Putin’s troops launched a massive invasion of other areas of Ukraine, without provocation. Putin again committed various war crimes. He launched missile strikes on civilian populations, especially targeting schools and hospitals. His troops kidnapped Ukrainian children and deported them to Russia for “re-education”. It was for these crimes that the International Criminal Court (ICC) condemned Putin and issued a warrant for his arrest. In the United States, Republicans and Democrats spoke with one voice. They denounced Putin and they praised Ukrainian president Zelensky for his military response. Over these last three years, the U.S. Congress has sent 119 billion dollars of aid to Ukraine for its fight against the war criminal Putin. As recently as the conference in Helsinki this year, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham praised Zelensky for his heroic stand against Putin.

Putin has not had a moral conversion, but ten days ago, good became evil and evil became good. Europe brought a Resolution to the United Nations General Assembly to condemn Russia for its invasion. Like similar resolutions in the past, the world joined together to condemn Russian and its War Criminal “President”. What was different this time was that our United States Ambassador to the UN, obeying Trump’s command, voted against the resolution. We joined the “Axis of Evil” nations in defending Putin. I was not surprised by Trump’s action. Just two weeks ago, Trump lied to the US people, falsely affirming that the war had been started by Ukraine. Nevertheless, it was painful to see most Republican leaders (with a few exceptions like senators Murkowski and Lankford) do a complete about face. Perhaps out of fear of Trump’s retaliation, they supported Trump’s UN vote in defense of Putin. Speaker of the House Johnson identified the Axis of Evil countries (Russia, North Korea, Iran, etc.) but tried to avoid the obvious truth that we had joined this Axis in our UN vote. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s body language in the White House fiasco meeting on Friday tells the whole story. He hated hearing Trump’s defense of Putin and attack on Zelensky, but he had sold out his conscience to his boss.

Calling evil actions good is in itself “evil”. In this case, it is due to Republicans’ “loyalty” to Donald Trump. But giving absolute loyalty to Trump or to any other fallen human being is not good. It is idolatry. Let us heed Isaiah’s warning before it is too late.

Republican Leaders (like Marco Rubio) and Putin, the War Criminal: An Unholy Alliance

Three years ago, Russian “President” Putin ordered thousands of his troops to invade their neighbor Ukraine which had done nothing to provoke Russia’s attack. This invasion is a fact. During these three years of bloody warfare, over a million soldiers from Russia and Ukraine have been killed or seriously injured. Even worse, Putin has attacked Ukraine’s civilian population causing death and destruction. Roughly a third of its 41 million population has been displaced from their homes.

Yesterday, Europe brought a Resolution to the United Nations General Assembly to condemn Russia for its invasion. Like similar resolutions in the past, the world joined together to condemn Russian and its War Criminal “President”. What was different this time was that our United States Ambassador to the UN, obeying Trump’s command, voted against the resolution. We joined the “Axis of Evil” nations in defending Putin. I was not surprised by Trump’s action. Just last week, he lied to the US people, falsely affirming that the war had been started by Ukraine.

Nevertheless, I was stunned and deeply saddened by our Republican leaders who defended Putin. For example, where is Marco Rubio? He spent his long public career denouncing the expansionist goals and war crimes of Putin and his country. Eight years ago, Senator Rubio grilled Rex Tillerson, who at that time was Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State. Rubio wanted to make sure that Tillerson would publicly denounce Putin as a war criminal for his unlawful invasion and takeover of Crimea in 2014. During these eight years, Putin has not changed. He has not had a moral conversion. Putin is far guiltier now than he was back then. It does not take much intelligence to see that Putin now has much more blood on his hands. Marco Rubio, now our Secretary of State, has changed. He has lost his conscience and sold out his soul. He has bowed the knee and kissed Trump’s presidential ring. So have most Republican leaders. It only takes an ounce of courage to speak the truth. Apparently, Republican leaders don’t have that ounce.