The world’s biggest problem (child)

What does it say about the country which brands itself as the "leader of the free world" that it could elect someone like Donald Trump to run it?

And what does it say about the leader of the supposed leader of the free world that he is now snuggling up to the dictator — yes, let’s introduce that word early on — whose attack on an independent neighbour shocked the world and has killed tens of thousands of people there?

United States President Trump inhabits some kind of fantasy world in which the real, verified, truth is no longer the truth, and the truth instead is whatever rambling utterances make their way from his brain and out of his mouth.

Fresh from calling Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator this week, and from the exhausting task of putting tens of thousands of Americans out of work, Mr Trump somehow found time to relax on the golf course while much of the Western world was reeling in shock at what he has done.

It is a massive understatement to say that Mr Trump turning his back on Ukraine and cosying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin is a worrying development. For all small, sovereign nations of the world, including New Zealand, it is actually frightening.

Mr Trump has been back in the Oval Office barely a month and is already wanting to overturn the world order. It seems he must get pleasure from voicing rambling statements, from out of left field, that set millions of people’s teeth on edge.

Is it a deliberate strategy to keep others on their toes? Or can he just not help it? When we are weighing up the reasons behind Mr Trump’s latest outrageous comments or actions, the only phrase we really need to bear in mind is, "what’s in it for him?", because that is all he is thinking about. So it is when dealing with narcissists.

The recent treatment of Ukraine and Mr Zelenskyy by this US administration is nothing less than shameful. That such a staunch defender of freedom in the face of Russian aggression would now side with the invaders is astonishing. And for Mr Trump to accuse Ukraine of being the antagonists — "you should never have started it" — is utterly gobsmacking.

Is this kowtowing, appeasement, to Russia what 77 million Americans wanted when they voted Mr Trump back into power in November? Whether the Make America Great Again crowd admit it or not, there must be many wondering what their dear leader is up to, even if the ramifications of it all are too complicated for them to understand.

Nobody could argue that peace between Russia and Ukraine would be anything other than a good thing, putting an end to senseless killing. But any settlements need to ensure that bad behaviour and blatant imperialism are not rewarded. Can we trust that Mr Putin will get his just desserts for the invasion and war? Probably not. It seems highly unlikely he will.

Instead, the US appears about to give the bully a pat on the back. This will only encourage Russia to further its expansionist aims towards somewhere like Moldova, even eventually threatening Nato members such as Poland or the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Does the term "lebensraum" ring any bells?

It is very odd that Ukraine would be excluded from the meetings the US is holding with Russia. Mr Trump sees nothing wrong with this, blaming Ukraine for not ending the war three years ago, in other words about the time it started, and not making a deal with Russia in the meantime.

Thank goodness most European countries and the United Kingdom have been quick to assure President Zelenskyy they have Ukraine’s back.

Not only has the US significantly tarnished its international reputation and its trustworthiness through Mr Trump’s preposterous words and actions, it has opened itself up for ridicule. The president’s insults towards Mr Zelenskyy are simply pathetic.

It doesn’t take long to ruin decades of good work. We can try to shrug off what has happened as just more madness from Mr Trump. But the repercussions on all small nations of the US flip-flop and its deceit are scary, to say the least.