Ben Rhodes

How is anybody going to take this guy seriously? If you sell your soul that hard that you do a complete 180 degree shift on the most important geopolitical issue in the world, arguably, You're just not, like, Sergey Lavrov is gonna, like, look at that guy as if he's tiny little Marco.

How is anybody going to take this guy seriously? If you sell your soul that hard that you do a complete 180 degree shift on the most important geopolitical issue in the world, arguably, You're just not, like, Sergey Lavrov is gonna, like, look at that guy as if he's tiny little Marco.

How is anybody going to take this guy seriously? If you sell your soul that hard that you do a complete 180 degree shift on the most important geopolitical issue in the world, arguably, You're just not, like, Sergey Lavrov is gonna, like, look at that guy as if he's tiny little Marco.

He's just totally disposable. He's totally afraid of Trump. He believes nothing.

He's just totally disposable. He's totally afraid of Trump. He believes nothing.

He's just totally disposable. He's totally afraid of Trump. He believes nothing.

For being invaded.

For being invaded.

For being invaded.

And so we're basically telling a country that we've been helping stay alive after being invaded that they have to give us all of their wealth to what? To be invited to the negotiating table on how they're going to have their country dismembered and never have a security guarantee from the United States. I mean, this is cruel stuff.

And so we're basically telling a country that we've been helping stay alive after being invaded that they have to give us all of their wealth to what? To be invited to the negotiating table on how they're going to have their country dismembered and never have a security guarantee from the United States. I mean, this is cruel stuff.

And so we're basically telling a country that we've been helping stay alive after being invaded that they have to give us all of their wealth to what? To be invited to the negotiating table on how they're going to have their country dismembered and never have a security guarantee from the United States. I mean, this is cruel stuff.

And I think to understand it, to pull back the lens here, and you and I were talking about this earlier, You know, what Putin believes in is that there are certain big powers that matter in the world that have kind of spheres of influence where they can do whatever the fuck they want. And those powers, by the way, don't include Europe. It's the United States and Russia and China, basically.

And I think to understand it, to pull back the lens here, and you and I were talking about this earlier, You know, what Putin believes in is that there are certain big powers that matter in the world that have kind of spheres of influence where they can do whatever the fuck they want. And those powers, by the way, don't include Europe. It's the United States and Russia and China, basically.

And I think to understand it, to pull back the lens here, and you and I were talking about this earlier, You know, what Putin believes in is that there are certain big powers that matter in the world that have kind of spheres of influence where they can do whatever the fuck they want. And those powers, by the way, don't include Europe. It's the United States and Russia and China, basically.

And then maybe, you know, the Saudis, Emiratis, just because they have a lot of money. And that's the world that Trump likes. You know, he doesn't care about allies. He doesn't care about democracies. He fundamentally believes in a highly transactional world in which if he can get some oil licenses from Russia, he can literally run a bus over not just Ukraine, but all of Europe in the process.

And then maybe, you know, the Saudis, Emiratis, just because they have a lot of money. And that's the world that Trump likes. You know, he doesn't care about allies. He doesn't care about democracies. He fundamentally believes in a highly transactional world in which if he can get some oil licenses from Russia, he can literally run a bus over not just Ukraine, but all of Europe in the process.

And then maybe, you know, the Saudis, Emiratis, just because they have a lot of money. And that's the world that Trump likes. You know, he doesn't care about allies. He doesn't care about democracies. He fundamentally believes in a highly transactional world in which if he can get some oil licenses from Russia, he can literally run a bus over not just Ukraine, but all of Europe in the process.

And the only thing that might keep him from kind of running the bus back and forth over and over again is if Ukraine signs off all their mineral wealth to the United States. It's absolutely grotesque. And it's a recipe for for a complete unraveling of any kind of international order that has any regard for human life, for right and wrong, for alliances, for democracy.

And the only thing that might keep him from kind of running the bus back and forth over and over again is if Ukraine signs off all their mineral wealth to the United States. It's absolutely grotesque. And it's a recipe for for a complete unraveling of any kind of international order that has any regard for human life, for right and wrong, for alliances, for democracy.