How Trump Continues to Out-ukrainian Ukrainians

In national folklore, which frequently reflects and perpetuates national stereotypes, Ukrainians are the smartest.

Through all sort of tricks they always outsmart everyone, from petty devils to Russians. Even Jews frequently come as losers when confronted by a skillful Ukrainian con-artist.

If you don’t believe me, read Gogol. Russians — known for their hero, Ivan-the-Fool, are no match to skillful Ukrainians. They might have power or wealth, but are defenseless against Ukrainian offensive. A simple Ukrainian blacksmith can catch a devil by his tail, flew him to St. Petersburg, and convince Catherine the Great to give him her slippers. Easy-peasy.

But then there is a master-Ukrainian, known as Trump. The guy outsmarts all the con-men known to mankind. For a simple reason, it is always easy for a con-man to take on other con-men, who are too confident in their own skills, and become therefore too trusting. And when confidence does not work, there is always a raw power, which Trump wields when he has to.

So I am not surprised, that every time Zelensky appears in Washington with one of his stupid stories, like give me money/weapons, and I’ll protect your democracy, he ends up with nothing. Trump gets Ukrainian minerals, and land, and contracts, and what have you, and Zelensky ends up paying for his own ticket and his own reception. Yet, he never gets it. He fools his own people, he fools Europeans, he fools Poles (that hardly an achievement — promise any Pole to destroy Russia, and he’ll buy a Brooklyn Bridge from you) — but not Trump. Trump used to eat the slime-balls like that in New York real estate business for breakfast.

In any case, fooling other con-men is easy for Trump. But Putin is hardly a con-man. He has geopolitical interests of Russia to protect, and it is existential for him and for his country. If Trump gets it into his thick head, he can get somewhere with Russia. There are a lot of greedy westernizers among Putin’s ruling elite, to want to make any sort of deal with the west. So Trump can easily fool those. But not the pig-headed military and security establishment that looks at the map, and sees how close NATO forces move to Russian borders.

So the sooner Trump stops playing Zelensky game with Russia, hoping to out-con them, the better are the chances for meaningful settlement.