Outrage of the Week: TRUMP SIDES WITH RUSSIA & THROWS UKRAINE UNDER THE BUS

The News:

In comments that stunned America’s allies in Europe and angered Ukraine’s government, President Trump on Tuesday appeared to blame Ukraine’s leaders for Russia’s invasion.

He also suggested that they do not deserve a seat at the table for the peace talks that he has initiated with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

“You should have never started it,” Mr. Trump said, referring to Ukraine’s leaders. “You could have made a deal.” He followed up on Wednesday in a post on social media, calling Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, a “dictator without elections" and saying he had “done a terrible job” in office.

The Outrage:

"It’s a disgraceful reversal of 80 years of American foreign policy,” — Kori Schake, American Enterprise Institute

“Some of the most shameful comments uttered by a president in my lifetime…Trump is siding with the aggressor, blaming the victim. In the Kremlin they must be jumping for joy.” — Ian Bond, deputy director of the Center for European Reform

“Trump’s name will be remembered in history as a surrender artist just like Neville Chamberlain” — Charles M. Kupperman, served as Mr. Trump’s deputy national security adviser

The Question for the Panel:

As the Trump administration rewrites history, the concern is clear: if America cannot be trusted to defend Ukraine, what does that mean for NATO? For Taiwan? For the entire structure of U.S. foreign policy?

But others argue: Why should America be the world's policeman? Shouldn't U.S. foreign policy serve America first?

What would our Fathers say?

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THE PANEL

John Adams

"Regard the Honour and moral Character of the Man more than all other Circumstances."– Letters to Abigail Adams

"Fools! Have you learned nothing? Republics do not survive on sentiment and wishful thinking. Promises mean nothing if they are not backed by virtue, discipline, and a spine! You prattle on about alliances as if they are trifles to be picked up and discarded—do you not see that the fate of a republic is bound to the character of its people? If you abandon your word, you abandon your soul. But, by all means, continue to posture like children while the world burns."

Translation: You’re all idiots, America is rotting from the inside out, and I’m tired of being the only one who understands this.

(He pauses, breathes heavily, and then sneers.)

"Of course, this depraved man despoiling my home embodies the powerful unitary executive, an arrangement wisely conceived of by this esteemed panel. His Majesty (an honorific entirely appropriate to the office) who now presides in the executive palace can do whatever he wishes. Had the titanic weight of my most demanding conscience seen fit to yield to the privileges of my office, my dear friend Mr. Jefferson might not have been burdened by it."

Alexander Hamilton

"The instrument by which [a nation] must secure her peace, is to be ready for war."– Federalist No. 24

"A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master and deserves one. Weakness invites subjugation. Strength commands respect. If you abandon your allies today, do not weep when your enemies stand at your doorstep tomorrow."

Translation: America doesn’t survive by being nice—it survives by being feared. You back down now, and Russia, China, and the rest of them will see their moment.

George Washington

"The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible."– Farewell Address, 1796

"It is a matter of considerable importance that a nation, having once entered into an engagement, considers with due gravity the conditions under which it may, or may not, be advisable to sustain said engagement. While prudence dictates that foreign entanglements be avoided, it is likewise the case that a reputation for inconsistency will, over time, yield unfavorable consequences. The preservation of national security must be weighed against the obligation to maintain the confidence of those with whom we have, through due process, established relations."

Translation: We shouldn’t get too involved in foreign wars, but also, if we look weak, that’s bad.

Thomas Jefferson

"Every man and every body of men on earth possesses the right of self-government."– Letter to Francis Gilmer, 1816

"Ah, but liberty is a fragile flower, is it not? The world shall not fall into ruin simply because we turn inward for a time. What of the liberty of the American people? Should we not first secure the sanctity of our own Republic before rushing to the aid of others? The world shall turn without our interference…The spirit of liberty, once stirred, knows no borders, and yet, it is a delicate thing, much like the ripening of a fine grape—it must be cultivated in its own soil, not transplanted by force. Would that all men might taste its sweetness, but alas, history shows that the vineyard of freedom is not so easily expanded."

Translation: I love liberty, but also, don’t ask me to fight for it directly. Also, have you tried my wine?

📝 NOTE FROM MODERATOR: …ever the walking contradiction, enigma, and human Rorschach test. Citizen Jefferson—storming the Bastille (or at least a salon in the Marais), waxing poetic about liberté en France… and yet, poor Sally. No liberté for her. She and your brood will be sold to pay for Monticello.

James Madison

"Alliances will immediately be formed with different rival & hostile nations of Europe, who will foment disturbances among ourselves, and make us parties to all their own quarrels." —Constitutional Convention, June 29, 1787

"If the question before us is whether the republic can, in good conscience, abandon its commitments abroad, we must first determine what constitutes a commitment. It is not sufficient to declare allegiance to an ally in sentiment alone; rather, the durability of such a relationship depends upon the institutional structures that sustain it. If we wish to maintain a system in which the rights and liberties of free peoples are preserved, we must ask whether retreat serves that purpose, or whether it instead weakens the very framework upon which those liberties rest. It is in this distinction that the answer, I believe, becomes evident."

Translation: If we break our word, we erode the foundations of international stability, and that’s a dumb idea.

Analysis: The American Ideology in Action

This debate exposes one of the most enduring tensions in American foreign policy, but also taps deeper into the defining tensional ideas in the American Ideology:

Republican self-preservation and the exercise of an energetic and empowered national executive, and,
Our deep attachment to the ideals of our national creed and how it serves as a compass for not only our internal affairs but how we act on the world stage.

We should take some measure of comfort that the debate our Fathers might have had on this issue would strike many of the same chords we hear today. “America First” as an idea is as old as the Republic and its roots run deep—all the way to the very core of who we are and the American Ideology. It captures more than a banner for isolationism or protectionism, and has little to do with the racism or xenophobia that some associate with MAGA’s adoption of the slogan (a slogan that has a sordid past among Nazi sympathizers like Charles Lindbergh).

The tensional ideas Herbert Croly called the National and Democratic ideas (in his seminal work, The Promise of American Life) sit on a continuum that represents the structural dimension of the American Ideology. Croly believed that the core tension in our constitution and ideology has changed very little from the debates between the Federalists (e.g. Hamilton) and the Anti-Federalists/Democratic-Republicans (e.g. Jefferson).

Jefferson and the others throughout our history who lean toward the “Democratic” idea were inward-looking not out of fear or cowardice, but shaped by republican virtues that are so deep in us, we often fail to see them. They are instantiated through everything from our an innate trust in all things “local,” how subsidiarity informs our preferred means of organizing almost everything, to our unique (‘exceptional’) devotion to community and civic engagement.

As the hypothetical debate reveals, there are many reasons for standing by our allies in Europe and the commitments we made to a nation invaded by a common rival. However, we must also resist jumping to conclusions about the underlying motivations inspiring our fellow Americans. If we can see the shared principles and values below the surface, we can begin to talk in the same language instead of the incessant screaming from our modern-day Tower of Babylon.

Let’s start by acknowledging how deep “America First" runs in our shared understanding of who we are as Americans. Let’s also acknowledge how real the tension is between the republican virtues that give rise to the argument of America First and staying true to the commitments we make as a nation on the world stage. Perhaps if we reorient the conversation and debate toward the ideal means of ensuring we prioritize our collective security and prosperity, a real conversation can begin.

THE POLL: WHICH FATHER KNOWS BEST?

Which Father do you think has the right response to the “outrage of the day”?

Hamilton - Tariffs unwise, executive action legitimate
Washington - Caution on policy and exercise of authority
Adams - Tariffs acceptable, no authority without virtue
Madison - Policy irrelevant, clearly unconstitutional