In a remarkable turn of events, former President Donald J. Trump offered to “head up [a] group” of peace negotiators between Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday morning, cautioning that the United States must act prudently in the wake of the suspected sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
President Joe Biden, who claims he is committed to ending the war, should accept Trump’s suggestion for the good of Europe, America, and the world. Of course, we don’t expect him to actually do so, but Trump’s latest advice is still valuable.
“U.S. ‘Leadership’ should remain ‘cool, calm, and dry’ on the SABOTAGE of the Nord Stream Pipelines,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “This is a big event that should not entail a big solution, at least not yet.”
On Tuesday, the Nord Stream pipelines began leaking millions of cubic meters of natural gas into the ocean. The evidence so far suggests that it was sabotaged — by who and what country remains unclear.
In a monologue Tuesday night, Fox News’s Tucker Carlson put forth several reasons that the Biden administration possibly could have committed the act: First, Biden himself suggested that he would take out the pipelines. Second, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre suggested that it would allow the world to transition to green energy. And third, it provides cover to escalate the war with Russia by blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As of now, that is all speculation. What is clear is that at this time, Biden is not calling for peace. On the contrary, he is willing to support the war however long it takes to defeat Putin.
Only Trump is demanding that the war end through negotiations.
“The Russia/Ukraine catastrophe should NEVER have happened, and would definitely not have happened if I were President,” Trump added on his Truth Social platform. “Do not make matters worse with the pipeline blowup. Be strategic, be smart (brilliant!), get a negotiated deal done NOW. Both sides need and want it. The entire World is at stake. I will head up group???”
It is easy to dismiss the message as a banal social media post, but it is a pretty extraordinary message when you think about it. A former president of the U.S. is using his platform to call for world peace, even offering to help his 2020 political opponent.
Critics of course would laugh at the very idea of Trump leading negotiations — they still think he is a maniac. Those critics either forget or ignore the relative peace during his administration. Trump started no new wars, crafted historic deals in the Middle East, and essentially defeated ISIS.
Putin, it should be remembered, acted aggressively against Ukraine under former President Barack Obama’s term, neglected to do so while Trump was in office, and then restarted his hostility shortly after Biden was inaugurated.
According to some reports, Biden’s incompetence in handling Afghanistan was the turning point for Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine. After seeing how feckless the new administration acted, Putin was emboldened, according to folks like Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Yet Trump proved he was not afraid to use force when necessary, never revealed his plans fully, and even successfully pressured NATO countries to pay more of their share for defense measures. In other words, it isn’t a stretch to say that Putin feared Trump, based on his actions as president.
Now, it seems obvious that Putin doesn’t fear Biden at all. He invaded Ukraine after months of being warned not to engage in conflict.
As observed last week, we have now had seven months of sanctions and boycotts on Russia while billions of U.S. dollars and military aid flood Ukraine. In turn, Russia has shown zero inclination to retreat.
But now, as pointed out by Trump, the war is on the precipice of escalating quickly. It is clear that Biden’s strategy has not been working. He should be looking for all possible avenues to peace. It would be an incredible sign of reconciliation if Biden actually tapped Trump for the job.
Trump, yet again, stands practically alone calling for a different course of action. Despite his record of success, Trump will more likely than not be ignored. It seems that Biden — as well as the establishments of both political parties in D.C. — want the war to continue.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
