“Me first”

Donald Trump’s recent meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Alaska was billed as a bold attempt to broker peace in Ukraine. In reality, it turned into a tragic parody of diplomacy- a so-called ceasefire conclave in which the central party-Ukraine-was not part of the talks as it was not invited. It was less a peace initiative than a stage-managed spectacle of two narcissistic, ego-driven leaders performing for the cameras. Trump’s decision to host Putin shattered the fragile consensus painstakingly built by Western nations to isolate Putin for war crimes in Ukraine. For years, the global community, through sanctions and diplomatic embargoes, had signaled that Putin-indicted for war crimes in Ukraine-was beyond the pale. But by giving him a red-carpet welcome in Alaska, Trump did what the Kremlin could never achieve alone. What Trump did was that he rehabilitated Putin’s standing, offering the Russian the legitimacy he craves and an opening to re-engage with states that had been pressured into isolating Russia. Actually, the spectacle may have served another purpose – to upstage the growing chorus to probe Trump for involvement with convicted and deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Leaders of two “superpowers” sitting down played neatly into Trump’s need to divert attention from the explosive Epstein files. His name surfaces among the convicted pedophile Epstein’s close associates who visited Little St. James in the Virgin Islands. While the world debated Trump’s “diplomacy, ” the darker shadow of his Epstein connection was conveniently pushed to the margins. Also the larger tragedy is that this folly comes at a time when Trump, nearing 80, is increasingly showing signs of cognitive decline. Yet, his Republican Party continues to back him, not out of conviction, but out of fear and political opportunism. Twice elected-first by a quirk of electoral arithmetic, and now by a toxic cocktail of populism, wealth, and right-wing posturing-Trump remains a leader without vision. He has neither a coherent economic strategy nor a global political outlook, save for the enrichment of his sprawling business empire through government contracts and influence-peddling. The hypocrisy runs deeper as Trump swiftly paused U. S. tariffs on Russia, gifting Moscow economic relief, while keeping punitive trade measures in place against India and China for purchasing Russian oil and commodities. Thus, while Moscow is rewarded, countries that had been forced into awkward compromises under energy pressures are scapegoated. The message was clear- Trump’s “America First” is little more than a mask for transactional favoritism and personal whim. If that weren’t damaging enough, Putin, emboldened by the Alaska stage, wasted no time in reiterating his maximalist demands- that Ukraine surrender all territories seized since 2014. This is not a peace plan-it is capitulation dressed up as negotiation, legitimized by Trump’s greed fed by his ego-centric and reckless theatrics. The Alaska meeting will be remembered not as a peace initiative but as a betrayal of Ukraine, an erosion of Western unity, and a dangerous elevation of Putin at a time when he should be further isolated. Trump’s megalomania and opportunism have made the world less safe. It is a sobering reminder of how fragile global order becomes when power falls into the hands of such a man driven only by ego, greed, and delusion. And unfortunately, involving the USA, a nation that has provided strong, stable and capable global leadership but whose reputation is declining fast.