Last night, much of Eastern Europe was terrified that Donald Trump would announce that the USA would exit NATO, leaving the region stranded amidst Russia’s war against Ukraine.
In the speech, however, he did not broach any such subject.
Warning that he was “just getting started”, he reiterated immediate plans to crack down on undocumented immigrants and positive discrimination, but also confidently promoted the tariffs he has put in place: “the most beautiful word in the English language: tariff”, he soliloquized.
Everything will be more expensive.
What’s more, he wants to shrink the government by making many federal workers redundant.
He touched on Ukraine much more laconically than many anticipated, given his recent spat with President Zelensky.
He reiterated that he wanted to see an end to the war, and shared that Zelensky also sent him a letter expressing a desire for peace. Trump said he appreciated the letter.
Meanwhile, Matthew Whitaker, who has been chosen by Donald Trump as the US’s ambassador to NATO, has called the USA’s commitment to NATO “ironclad”.
A radical move isn’t improbable yet – but this may buy us time.
