A Guest Post: Trump disgraces the world
A must-read and thoughtful post from a dear friend of mine, a Brit living in France, whose writing deserves an international audience
Trump disgraces the world
Feb 19, 2025
Trump wants the Nobel Peace Prize. He has wanted it since he found out that his arch-enemy Barack Obama got it. He said during his first term ‘I don’t see what’s so noble about it’, revealing that he is as ignorant about the Nobel Prize as he is about everything else. So in pursuit of the Nobel Peace Prize, which has been ruined anyway by giving it to such dedicated warmongers as Yasser Arafat and Henry Kissinger, he has decided to pursue peace in two theatres: Gaza and Ukraine.
In Gaza, he defers to the wonder boy of the first administration, Jared Kushner, who saw it as a real estate opportunity. Two million Palestinians there? No problem. Move them out, like slum landlord tenants who have outstayed their welcome. Where are they supposed to go? Egypt and Jordan. Egypt and Jordan both receive American aid, so how can they refuse? The deal is done.
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It is no surprise that neither Egypt nor Jordan want anything to do with this. Indeed, every single Arab representative at the UN stood together to back up a statement by the Ambassador of the Palestinian Authority denouncing the idea as promoting a crime against humanity.
This reminds me of something that is surfacing here and there. Trump fans like to mention The Art of the Deal, as if the mere existence of this work proves that Trump is the master deal-maker. The title The Art of the Deal and the whole idea of the book was invented by the hired ghost-writer, Tony Schwartz, who gave up trying to get input from Trump when he realized that he just lied all the time. Instead of talking about the book, Trump wanted to boast mendaciously about some fresh deal of his, always the greatest, the biggest, the most profitable…
A good example of Trump’s real ability as a deal-maker is that Schwartz, who would normally have been paid a flat fee, suggested to Trump that he should get 50% of the royalties as well. ‘Sure’, said Trump. His deals are as idiotic as his rally speeches.
In Gaza, it is difficult to see how Trump can actually make the situation worse. Nobody in their right mind is going to go along with his ethnic cleansing for profit scheme, not even the most rabid right-wing Israelis. But his second target is Ukraine, and that is much more serious.
Ukraine has stood up to the worst that Russia can offer: and that is some of the worst that humanity has available. Rape, torture, looting, total destruction… Russia has no interest in preventing its own losses, or in imposing any civilized rules of engagement. Russians admire brutality, and Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is happy to provide it.
The whole world has watched this happening. Russian forces murdering civilians, bombing hospitals and schools. Abducting children. Everybody knows.
But we forget the man who knows nothing. The man, according to Tony Schwarz, who spent two years dealing with him, who has not read a book in his adult life.
For him, Putin is not a warmongering psychopath but a ‘great guy’. The man, preposterously, who is going to win him the Nobel Peace Prize.
Ukraine is now heavily dependent on US weapons. This is the American Way. ‘Aid’ to other countries means American taxpayer support to the US armaments industry, and Ukraine is now equipped with American kit. That means that they need spare parts, ammunition and so on from America to keep it all working.
So Trump pulling the rug away is a nasty surprise. What about NATO?
Another thing that Trump evidently does not know is that NATO is the American military command in Europe. The ranking flag officer in NATO is SACEUR, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and this has always been an American four-star. He heads the military branch of NATO, called SHAPE, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. It has often been convenient for the US to pretend that NATO is some kind of independent organization, but nobody involved in NATO believes that. NATO was set up by the United States in order to perpetuate their military domination of the European theatre, established after D-Day. What does Trump believe? Apparently that the Europeans have been taking advantage of the United States. Does he know anything about the Second World War, or about European History? The question answers itself.
Having an ignorant fool in charge of a country is not in itself such a novelty. But when the ignorant fool is in charge of world affairs it is a different question.
The whole world has come together to back Ukraine in its resistance to Russian aggression. Putin thought he could march his men into Kiev and the population would respond with kisses and flowers. It seems that he was misled by a sycophantic intelligence directorate. The Ukrainians have proved in blood and treasure that the last thing they want is to become part of the Russian Federation.
Donald Trump now wants to abandon Ukraine. He doesn’t know anything about it, of course, but he sees some short-term advantage for himself. Just to rub everyone’s face in it still further, he has found a partner in another monster, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed bin Sultan, who came to power in a palace coup that involved hiring mercenaries to arrest his rival princes and hang them upside down until they agreed to give him their money. If he could somehow get Kim Jong-Un involved the new Axis of Evil would be complete.
NATO is paralysed. It is structurally impossible for NATO to stand up against the USA. So it is left to other governments to try to resist this disgraceful attempt by Donald Trump to sacrifice countries he has barely heard of and doesn’t understand for the sake of his ‘great guy’ version of international relations and his criminal disregard for human life. America is still the most powerful and richest nation, and its leadership position in NATO, the UN and the West means that the whole world is disgraced by its complicity in Trump’s idiotic but catastrophic actions.
This is the low point of America’s standing in the world.
© 2025 Christopher Lord
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Christopher’s Bio: I've lived in ten countries and speak many languages. I've taught at every level from kindergarten to graduate students. I've written books, plays and music and am currently engaged in a series of essays about the structure of consciousness.