Zelensky rightly asks Trump to present his ‘peace plan’
John Bolton
Occasionally, former President Donald Trump is uncomfortably extruded from the alternative universe he creates for himself and his most ardent followers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made such a reintroduction last week, asking that Trump reveal his plan to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Interviewed by CNN, Zelensky suggested that Trump “can publicly share his idea now, not waste time, not to lose people… and then say that ‘my formula is to stop the war and stop all this tragedy and stop Russian aggression.'” To leave no misunderstanding, Zelensky added, “So if the idea is how to take the part of our territory and to give [Vladimir] Putin, that is not the peace formula.”
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Zelensky knows Trump has no real idea how to end the war or seriously address Moscow’s unprovoked aggression. Instead, simply asking Trump to be explicit about his “peace plan” exposes the hollowness of his assertions, which are simply more entertainment for his base. To date, no American politician has held Trump to account for his substance-free approach to public policy, such as his oft-repeated assertion that Russia would never have invaded Ukraine during a Trump presidency. Perhaps Zelensky will succeed where they have failed.
In fact, once Putin saw from Trump’s “perfect” July 25, 2018, phone call with Zelensky and the subsequent impeachment proceedings that U.S.-Ukraine relations were in deep trouble, the likelihood of Russian attack only grew. Putin was savvy enough to avoid taking actions during a U.S. presidential election whose consequences were unpredictable, waiting instead to see the result. Had Trump won in 2020 and moved to weaken America’s connection with NATO or completely withdraw, Putin was ready to take full advantage of such an open invitation to invade Ukraine.
Today, Trump still has no clear idea what to do about Ukraine or much also in foreign policy.
He has said so many things about ending the Ukraine war, often vague, incoherent, aimless, or contradictory, that it is impossible to analyze them in any comprehensive way. Significantly, before Russia even invaded, he expressed his enduring admiration for Putin, which undoubtedly has not faded and would inevitably color any Trump diplomatic efforts if he were reelected. Trump’s theory of international affairs fixates on the notion that good personal relations between leaders reflect good relations between their nations. Many who have watched or listened to Putin and Trump interact have a different view, namely that Putin thinks Trump is a fool. Perhaps Zelensky is one of them.
As with most of Trump’s invariably politically driven rhetoric, he has also heavily criticized President Joe Biden’s handling of Ukraine, admittedly a large and inviting target. In January 2023, for example, Trump said, “we are at the brink of World War Three… I would have a peace deal negotiated within 24 hours.” Then, in a subsequent Reuters interview, Trump called the war “ridiculous,” without further clarification. Reflecting Trump’s general rule of life itself, he added, “everything would be ‘subject to negotiation.'” Ukraine had fought well, so “they would be entitled to keep much of what they’ve earned and I think that Russia likewise would agree to that. You need the right mediator, or negotiator, and we don’t have that right now,” (italics added).
Translating the Trump-speak, he means Ukraine would not be entitled to keep all of what it has “earned.” Almost certainly in Trump’s view, this does not include Ukrainian territory still controlled by Russian forces. While initially characterizing his role as a “mediator,” implying that neither party prevails entirely, he then said, “this is the time to do it, to get the two parties together to force peace,” (italics added) which actually implies binding arbitration.
Zelensky and Putin both know Trump is simply boasting, perhaps explaining why Zelensky called Trump’s bluff by asking him to disclose publicly what his peace plan entailed. Trump has consistently refused to release any specifics about his “plan,” saying, for example, in February, “you have to get them both [Putin and Zelensky] in a room, and there are things you can say to each one of them — which I won’t reveal now — which will guarantee this war will end immediately.”
Trump may believe he is copying Richard Nixon’s 1968 approach (which is vigorously denied by Nixon’s defenders), with a “secret plan” for Vietnam. Whatever the accuracy of the comparison, given Trump’s record of braggadocio, Americans should be skeptical. The unfortunate reality is that Trump’s affinity for Putin and his likely effort to withdraw the United States from NATO soon after a second inauguration, point all too clearly to a pro-Russian outcome of any Trump involvement. Zelensky’s invitation to Trump, therefore, is also a well-timed plea to Americans not to let Trump anywhere near the Oval Office for fear of the damage he will do in a second term.
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John Bolton served as National Security Advisor to President Trump between 2018 and 2019. Between 2005 and 2006, he served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.