At the instructions of Donald Trump, the United States government embarrassed all Americans yesterday at the United Nations by siding with Russia on the third anniversary of the Kremlin’s merciless invasion of Ukraine, the worst fighting in Europe since World War II ended in 1945. Or should we call it a “special military operation,” using Vladimir Putin’s lie that Trump gullibly accepts?
Upstate Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, tapped by Trump to be next U.S. ambassador to the UN, is lucky that she has not yet been confirmed by the Senate to have to carry out Putin’s dirty work before the Parliament of Man on the East Side at Trump’s behest.
The odious task at the General Assembly was left to Dorothy Shea, the career Foreign Service officer who is the acting chargé d’affaires for the U.S. Mission to the UN.
The Ukrainians and almost all members of the European Union, along with Britain, who are our NATO allies (or at least used to be), sponsored a resolution called “Advancing a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine” denouncing the savage and unprovoked Russian invasion.
Shea shamefully urged a “no” vote and thankfully she was ignored, as it passed 93 in favor and only 18 against. Applause broke out. The Ukrainians were clapping. The Russians were not, nor were the Americans. While our longtime friends like France, Britain, Italy, Germany, Japan and Canada voted to condemn the Russian aggression, the U.S. joined with Russia and places like Belarus, Hungary, North Korea and some tiny Pacific islands and Israel, which always side with Washington.
Next came up the meaningless anodyne resolution, the Path to Peace, offered by the Trump administration that assigned no blame to the war. The majority then proceeded to add some meaning to it with three amendments. The phrase “Russia-Ukraine conflict” was replaced with “the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.” The U.S. and its tiny band of new pro-Moscow friends voted no and lost as the amendment was approved.
That was repeated on two more amendments supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and prewar borders. Each time the U.S. stood with Russia and a handful of countries against the world and each time it deservingly lost.
The U.S. then abstained on its own resolution, which has been successfully modified to give it some teeth. Later in the day, the original pablum from the White House was approved by the Security Council when Britain and France withheld their vetoes by abstaining while China and Russia voted in favor.
During an Oval Office visit yesterday by French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump was asked by the press if Putin is a “dictator,” responding: “I don’t use those words lightly, I think we’re going to see how it all works out.”
Yet he used those words, lightly or not, last week in describing heroic Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who Trump has it out for.
What could be better for Putin three years after his non-invasion? Is this acceptable to Secretary of State Marco Rubio? To National Security Advisor Mike Waltz? They know the truth, as does Putin and the Europeans. Everyone knows the truth except Donald Trump and unfortunately he is president of the United States. God protect Ukraine, because Trump won’t.
