Art of the Deal: Ukraine

December 2, 2024

Donald Trump catapulted to fame in 1987 with his book “The Art of the Deal,” which outlined tactics for business success: Think big, anticipate the worst, know your market and customer, use your leverage, and everything is negotiable. This algorithm will forge Trump’s New World Order, not diplomatic politesse. He promised to end Russia’s war by his inauguration on January 20 — a deadline to generate proposals and negotiations. Thus far, Putin has said nothing, but Ukraine’s Zelensky pitched a plan that after the war, Americans and allies can invest in his country’s natural resources, worth $26 trillion, equivalent to Canada’s or Australia’s mineral wealth. Trump has not commented or described his road map to peace. But he re-appointed Sebastian Gorka as a security advisor, who said on television: “I will give one tip away that the President has mentioned. He will say to that murderous former KGB colonel, that thug who runs the Russian Federation, you will negotiate now, or the aid we have given to Ukraine thus far will look like peanuts. That’s how he will force those gentlemen to come to an arrangement that stops the bloodshed.”