Victor Davis Hanson: Europe Cries Betrayal as Trump Makes His Biggest Power Play Yet

Overview

Victor Davis Hanson argues that President Donald Trump’s proposed meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping is a strategic effort to balance the three powers, not a betrayal of Ukraine. Hanson says Trump wants to discourage Russia from aligning more closely with China and China from treating the United States as its principal threat.

Hanson’s Reasons for the Meeting

• Ukraine and Russia: Hanson suggests Trump may seek a settlement that stops the fighting along a new armistice line while preserving Ukraine as a sovereign state with a defensible military. He argues that Ukraine is unlikely to retake Crimea or the occupied eastern territories, and compares a possible compromise to Finland’s settlement with the Soviet Union after the 1939–40 Winter War.
• Iran and energy: Hanson says Trump may want Russia to stop assisting Iran and to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. He also links a settlement to easing sanctions and reducing energy prices, while arguing that limited refining capacity—not oil supply alone—is keeping fuel prices elevated.
• Humanitarian concerns: Hanson describes the war as a devastating, ongoing conflict with enormous casualties. He argues that neither side appears able to secure a decisive victory, making a negotiated end important.
• Taiwan and China: Hanson warns that conflicts in Ukraine and Iran could stretch U.S. attention and create an opening for China to move against Taiwan. He argues that Russia may also have reason to oppose China becoming more powerful on its border.
• Europe’s exclusion: Hanson says European leaders have weakened their influence by criticizing Trump while, in his view, failing to reciprocate U.S. support. He points to their refusal to assist the United States during the conflict with Iran, restrictions on U.S. use of NATO facilities, continued dependence on Russian energy, and limited defense spending. He presents Europe’s anger at being left out of the summit as a consequence of those choices.

Additional Content

The video includes a separate promotional segment for Alliance Defending Freedom.

Presenter/contributor: Victor Davis Hanson.