Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze reacted with anger to my latest article in the Washington Examiner this week. That article considered the Georgian government’s possible use of a World War I-era chemical agent during last year’s protest crackdowns. Why did this strike such a sensitive nerve in Tbilisi?
The primary answer is that it appeared in a conservative U.S. media outlet. This is the very audience that the government’s Georgian Dream party has been trying hard to cultivate in hopes of Washington turning a blind eye to its alliance with America’s enemies.
Since Trump took office, the ruling party has tried to present itself as an ally of President Donald Trump‘s political movement. But Georgian Dream’s record tells a different story. In policy, rhetoric, and worldview, nothing about this government resembles what the American Right actually stands for. It is a party that criticizes the United States for “imperialism” and “oppression,” insists China is the more “values-based” partner, and amplifies pro-Russian narratives and Moscow’s corrupted governance.
Indeed, Georgian Dream was originally part of Europe’s social-democratic alliance, introduced gender quotas, expanded welfare programs, and is now targeting private universities in favor of a state-run model. These are hardly conservative credentials. Moreover, the government is doing exactly what Vice President JD Vance blasted the European Union for doing earlier this year: policing speech, punishing criticism of officials both online and offline, banning opposition parties, and restricting individual and religious freedoms.
Behind this effort is Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire powerbroker who runs the country without holding an office. Ivanishvili is under U.S. sanctions. Since Trump took office, his prime minister and other officials have insisted they stand with Trump supporters in a shared fight against the “deep state,” convinced this narrative would secure them an opening in Washington and maybe an easing of sanctions. When that failed, they pivoted to an even stranger claim that Trump himself must be controlled by the deep state.
This underscores both the opportunism and the delusion that sustains the current Georgian government. But the government’s anti-American agenda is also clear. It has prioritized outreach to China, signing an all-encompassing strategic partnership, made high-profile official visits to Iran, and helped the Kremlin avoid sanctions. Far from acting as a U.S. partner, the Georgian government is actively undercutting American interests while weakening democratic institutions at home.
Which gets us to a legitimate question: Why would this supposed American partner choose to cooperate with Iran, award China strategically important projects on the Black Sea, and side with Moscow?
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If you want to be an American ally, you do not act this way.
Washington wanting a Ukraine war peace deal with Russia is one thing. But that does not mean the Trump administration welcomes facilitating Russia’s strategic goals, empowering Iran, and flattering China. And the Georgian government doesn’t want Trump supporters to realize it.