Putin’s Useful Idiots Ambush Democracy

“This is going to be great television.”

But it wasn’t great. It was tragic. U.S. President Donald Trump’s comment at the conclusion of his unprecedented public outburst directed toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked a milestone in a momentous week: Trump’s “America First” agenda became “America Alone… with Russia.”

Trump and Vice President JD Vance shouted at Zelenskyy—a beleaguered wartime leader struggling to defend his democratic nation against Russia’s invasion. They scolded him for not thanking Trump, who slowed to a trickle the flow of American weapons to Ukraine.

In rejecting Trump’s request, Zelenskyy joined Trump’s list of “enemies.” To get even, Trump is now helping Russia negotiate what it could not achieve after three years on the battlefield: the conquest of Ukraine.

Russian leaders could not hide their glee. On social media, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev posted: “The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office. And @realDonaldTrump is right: The Kiev regime is ‘gambling with WWIII.’”

Democracies throughout the world rallied around Zelenskyy.

A Useful Idiot Throws a Tantrum

In the 1930s, Soviet President Joseph Stalin referred to Westerners who supported him as “useful idiots.” That description understates Trump’s value to Putin. Far beyond the praise that Trump lavishes on other dictators, Trump parrots Russian propaganda and ignores these facts:

• Russia invaded Ukraine, making it a victim of unlawful Russian aggression and alleged war crimes. But Trump claims falsely that Ukraine “started” the war.

• In 2019, Zelenskyy won a landslide victory with 73% of the vote in a free and fair democratic election. Russia’s 2022 invasion resulted in martial law, which made future Ukraine elections during wartime impossible. But Trump repeats another false Putin talking point that Zelenskyy is an illegitimate leader—a “dictator without elections.”

• Zelenskyy has an approval rating in Ukraine exceeding 50%. But contrary to the evidence, Trump says that it’s only 4%. He’s pushing Putin’s positions aimed at excluding Zelenskyy from settlement negotiations and destabilizing Ukraine: “I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings,” Trump said in a February 21, 2025 Fox News interview. “He has no cards, and you get sick of it… And I’ve had it.”

Why has Trump turned against Zelenskyy and toward Putin? Observers say that it reflects Trump’s “transactional” approach. But that’s too benign. More likely explanations are that Trump is: 1) beholden to Putin, and 2) vindictive toward Zelenskyy.

Trump Owes Putin

Commentators have largely ignored the passages that are key to understanding Trump’s tirade.

“Putin went through a hell of a lot with me,” Trump told Zelenskyy.

“With me” is the key. In Trump’s mind, he and Putin together suffered through investigations into Russian election interference. As Trump explained, “He went through a phony witch hunt where they used him and Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia. You ever hear of that deal? That was a phony… And he had to go through that. And he did go through it. We didn’t end up in a war. And he went through it. He was accused of all that stuff. He had nothing to do with it.”

By adopting Putin’s positions, Trump and Vance have destroyed any leverage that Ukraine, Europe, or the U.S. had in negotiating a resolution of the war.

The truth is that Putin had everything “to do with it” and “went through” nothing, except perhaps delight when his candidate won the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Special counsel Robert Mueller and the Senate Intelligence Committee found that Russia wanted Trump to win and took steps to achieve that outcome. To this day, the factual findings remain unrebutted.

Russian intelligence officers hacked Democratic National Committee computer systems and spread disinformation on social media. Communications between the Trump campaign and Russians were numerous and frequent. And when members of the Russian parliament learned of Trump’s victory, they burst into applause.

But Trump is still pushing the lie that investigating Russian interference was a “witch hunt.”

For Trump, Everything is Personal

Another explanation for Trump’s explosion was six years in the making. Shortly after 9:00 am on July 25, 2019, Trump asked Zelenskyy for a “favor:” If Ukraine opened an investigation into Hunter Biden’s dealings in the country and thereby tarnished the likely Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, Trump would release previously appropriated U.S. military aid.

Zelenskyy refused. Eventually, Trump was impeached over what he falsely described as his “perfect call” with Zelenskyy. And Biden won the 2020 election.

In rejecting Trump’s request, Zelenskyy joined Trump’s list of “enemies.” To get even, Trump is now helping Russia negotiate what it could not achieve after three years on the battlefield: the conquest of Ukraine.

For Trump, retribution was a no-brainer. He could please Putin while getting even with Zelenskyy. A two-fer.

Carrying Putin Across the Finish Line

Trump has told Zelenskyy to end the war on Putin’s terms or else. He “better move fast or he’s not going to have any country left,” Trump warned.

Vance relished his role as Trump’s attack dog. He asserted that Trump’s diplomacy would end the war and berated Zelenskyy for not thanking Trump. Zelenskyy responded with Putin’s track record of breaking prior diplomatic agreements and asked, “What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you speaking about?”

“I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that's going to end the destruction of your country,” Vance said smugly. But he was actually referring to the kind of diplomacy that emboldens Putin’s self-proclaimed effort to recreate the Russian empire through brute force.

By adopting Putin’s positions, Trump and Vance have destroyed any leverage that Ukraine, Europe, or the U.S. had in negotiating a resolution of the war. Specifically, those positions include:

• Ukraine cannot join NATO;
• Ukraine must cede permanently portions of Ukraine that Russia has captured;
• Economic sanctions that are crippling Russia’s economy should be removed; and
• America should side with Russia against democracy—as it did on February 24 when the U.S. voted against a United Nations resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ninety-three nations—including America’s most loyal allies—voted in favor of the resolution.

The Danger of Useful Idiots in High Places

Like a child with arrested development, Trump doesn’t care about the larger consequences of his actions. He has no global strategy for retaining democracy’s friends or resisting its foes. His goals in Ukraine are to help Putin and to humiliate Zelenskyy. The fact that he will make the world a more dangerous place does not factor into his limited thinking.

When asked whether sacrificing Ukraine would undermine European security, the NATO alliance, and America’s national interests, Trump said that the “big, beautiful ocean” would protect us. That strategy might have worked in the 18th century; it’s an absurd approach to protecting America today.

Apologists for authoritarians are nothing new. But now Putin’s most useful idiot ever occupies the Oval Office. Fear and personal ambition have caused Republicans in the legislative branch to abandon their constitutional responsibility to check him.

Only six weeks after Trump’s inauguration, the results for America and the world are already catastrophic.

It will get worse.