"Trump is completely on the defensive and just lashing out"

Politics Is the US President failing because of Putin? "Trump is completely on the defensive and just lashing out" April 29, 2025, 6:17 p.m. "All he's creating is chaos – to the benefit of Russia and China," says Jäger. The US President is finding it difficult to cope with Moscow and Beijing in security and trade policy, says expert Thomas Jäger. His Russian counterpart Putin, in particular, is leading him by the nose. But Trump himself doesn't notice. ntv.de: US President Donald Trump made a clear statement to his Russian counterpart: "I want Putin to stop shooting, sit down, and sign a deal." What does he want to achieve? Thomas Jäger: For the American President, it's about ending the war in Ukraine because it gives him greater freedom of action. On the one hand, he can then do business with Russia; that's his stated intention. Second, he can then stop supporting Ukraine. He also promised this during the election campaign. These are the two main reasons why he is aiming for a peace agreement. A personal motive is also always cited: Trump wants to win the Nobel Peace Prize. That may be true, but he won't get it anyway. Thomas Jäger is a professor of international politics at the University of Cologne. Does Putin take such statements by Trump seriously? No. Russian interests have not changed. Russia is waging this war to rebuild itself as a global power, with the support of China. Beijing, like Moscow, is interested in shaping the international order so that autocratic systems no longer have to live in fear of any protests because they lack legitimacy. One basis for achieving this goal is to gain political dominance over Europe. In this context, Trump is an advantage for Beijing and Moscow. The US president is willing to strain transatlantic relations to the point where they could even break. And he would cede at least part of Europe, perhaps even all of Europe, to Russia. Why should Putin give up anything? So, does Trump not mind building a Russian global power – is he even interested in dividing Europe with Putin? That's unknown. The astonishing thing is that Trump promotes two self-images. One is the dealmaker and the other is the disruptor. A disruptor initially has a positive connotation because someone in this role breaks up entrenched relationships to create something new. The problem is that Trump is chasing a fantasy, if he even has a plan for what he wants to create. All he creates is chaos – to the benefit of Russia and China. We also see this in his administration: No plan has been developed, be it in trade or security policy. Furthermore, the members of Trump's administration constantly contradict each other in their arguments. 100 Days of Ukraine Policy: Trump's Deals and Humiliations Isn't this communicative chaos also part of Trump's propaganda strategy? With Trump, everything is always a propaganda strategy, either to build his brand or to distract from something. But the question is: What exactly does he want to achieve with his trade policy? If we take the goal of increasing investment in the United States as a starting point, Trump would be pursuing no different policy than his predecessor, Joe Biden. But Biden acted more wisely because he tried to make the American economy more attractive through subsidies. The sledgehammer Trump is using with tariffs, on the other hand, discourages investment. Who could have seriously and systematically considered something like that? And there's also a lack of planning in security policy? Yes. Regarding the war in Ukraine, Trump's administration said: First, we'll put pressure on Ukraine, then we'll negotiate with them – then we'll put pressure on the Russians, and then they'll negotiate. But what does Trump want to use to put pressure on Russia? That wasn't thought through beforehand. There's nothing Russia can't counter with the help of China. Trump now even has to invent talks with China to pretend there's an exchange going on. The US president still acts as if he's on the offensive, as if he's shaping the situation. But Trump is completely on the defensive and is just lashing out. Putin rejects 30-day ceasefire Trump recently threatened Putin with new sanctions. But the US economy is already suffering from tariff policy – ​​and sanctions could weaken it further. Will they be imposed anyway? They could come, but less from the administration than from the Senate. There's talk of imposing secondary sanctions, primarily. That would be a sharp sword. This would sanction companies that, for example, buy oil and gas from Russia. It remains to be seen whether the Republicans in the Senate will ultimately pass this. So far, Trump has only offered Putin a carrot, for example, by exempting him from US tariffs. I'm extremely skeptical that Trump will now bring out the stick. Trump expressed dissatisfaction after the Kremlin announced a four-day ceasefire on Russia's World War II commemoration day. Do you think Trump's attitude toward Putin can change permanently because of his frustration? The whole world sees how Putin is leading Trump by the nose. Only Trump himself doesn't see it. Whether he will come to this realization and then derive a different policy from it is the great unknown. That would represent a drastic shift in American foreign policy back to traditional paths, namely rallying allies against autocracies that challenge the US as a global power. Trump would have to forge an alliance against China and Russia. Trump now sees how little Russia is responding to his demands regarding the war in Ukraine – and he is having the same experience with China in the trade war. Trump is being defeated by Putin and Xi Jinping, both of whom appear unimpressed. Trump gives the impression of wanting to transform the US into an autocracy as well. Is that one reason why he – according to his own statement – ​​gets along so well with Putin? Trump gets along very well with all autocrats. From Kim Jong-un to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, from Vladimir Putin to Xi Jinping – they are all his friends. He praises them to the skies. Because right now, the team around him is busy leading the United States into an autocratic system. What signs are there of this? This is clear in the way federal agencies are being structured, where so-called disloyal people are being fired and everything is being filled with loyal people. It is evident in the politicization of the judiciary, which is being used to get opponents out of office and even behind bars. It is evident in the fact that he is spreading fear and terror among a large portion of Americans—tens of millions of them, after all—who he is threatening with deportation. This isn't about deporting people who are in the country illegally—it's about people with an immigrant background who have been living in the United States for a long time. You can see it in the fact that he is cutting funding to universities. He is also talking about prosecuting polling institutes and revoking the licenses of unwanted broadcasters. Jäger: "Trump is surrounded only by yes-men" Could Kyiv pursue the strategy of keeping the US at the negotiating table until Biden's US military aid expires? Has Ukraine perhaps already given up trying to win the US over? For Trump, Ukraine policy is merely a function of his Russia policy. Trump wants to cooperate with Putin – and is abandoning Ukraine for that. If Trump changes his policy toward Russia, he will have a hard time selling it to his voters. Because he has been telling them all along: The Ukrainians are ripping us off. In connection with the natural resources agreement, he said: The Ukrainians must repay their debts. In this respect, there is much to suggest that he will not provide any new military aid. If that happens, Ukraine could try to produce enough military equipment itself – and count on the support of Europeans and other Western states. Or Russia could succeed in ending the war on its own terms. Lea Verstl spoke with Thomas Jäger Source: ntv.de