Some weeks, the plethora of undaunted, courageous figures both lifts one’s spirits and makes selection of just one individual difficult. After all, this week we got a reminder of Brazilian Federal Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s defiant, tenacious prosecution of former president and coup instigator Jair Bolsonaro in the face of Donald Trump’s threats and tariffs. We also witnessed Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier (thereafter joined by colleagues) remain “locked in the Texas House of Representatives in Austin after refusing to sign a pledge to return for a vote on Republican redistricting proposals.” And here in Washington, D.C., residents peacefully marched, protested, bore witness, and refused to bend the knee to the autocratic invader. Their defiance, restraint, and dedication to democracy were an example to the entire country.
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However, one group standing in defense of democracy stood out. They swiftly rose to a challenge, put egos aside, and stood to help defend another leaderon the front line in the battle against an authoritarian bully (actually two bullies, but only one waging physical war). United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, President of the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte traveled at a moment’s notice to the White House to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to protect their democratic ally from the predacious Russian President Vladimir Putin and his lackey Donald Trump.
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On one level, it is embarrassing that a democratic leader facing down military aggression needed “protection” from a U.S. president, but that is the upside-down world we now inhabit—one in which the U.S. is a greater threat to Ukraine than it is to Russia.
The EU officials’ mission was described throughout legacy media as “presenting a united front.” But it was more than that. It was a precisely choreographed diplomatic maneuver designed to contain and redirect Trump, to drown out Trump’s talk of “land swaps” (Putin’s way of demanding land that Russia occupies and land it has failed to take militarily), and to reaffirm democratic values—even when the world’s only superpower cannot and will not do so.
The individual leaders helped guide the meeting to avoid another Trump explosion. As difficult as it must have been, they soberly listened to Trump’s rants, pretended he was coherent, and kept up the patter of insincere flattery. The leaders followed up with pointed rhetoric after the White House meeting. Macron in an NBC interview expressed skepticism that Russia was interested in a deal, and vowed to keep the threat of additional sanctions as leverage. He declared that “if the Russians don’t comply with this approach, yes, we have to increase the sanctions, secondary and primary sanctions.” And in language we used to expect from the U.S. president he stressed, “There is an aggressor, which is Russia. There is a country which decided to kill people, stole children and who refused a ceasefire and peace, so we cannot just create an equivalent situation between Ukraine and Russia.”
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Merz provided some diplomatic realism, emphasizing the need for a ceasefire (contrary to the Putin-Trump line) and decrying the idea of pressuring Ukraineto give up territory. He explained after the White House meeting, “The Russian [demand] that Kyiv give up the free parts of Donbas is, to put it in perspective, equivalent to the US having to give up Florida.” The geographic and political clarity was refreshing.
The UK on Tuesday, after a meeting of the EU countries, put out a statement confirming that EU officials would be meeting with U.S. negotiators “to further strengthen plans to deliver robust security guarantees and prepare for the deployment of a reassurance force if the hostilities ended.” Echoing Macron’s warning, the statement added, “The leaders also discussed how further pressure—including through sanctions – could be placed on Putin until he showed he was ready to take serious action to end his illegal invasion.”
SubscribedThe EU leaders grasp several points that evidently elude Trump, who has neither the interest in nor the knowledge necessary to address the substance of any deal. The Europeans understand that without a ceasefire and the threat of sanctions, Putin will stall, continue to bomb Ukraine, and try to wear down Ukraine’s civilian population. They also understand that handing over land to Putin that he has taken by force would only pose an incentive for further aggression (from him or other countries observing Trump’s fecklessness). And lastly, they understand there is no moral equivalence between Ukraine and Russia. In sum, they are leading the Free World with the conviction to preserve the international order that has been in place since the end of WWII.
The U.S. certainly remains an economic and military superpower. But under Trump it no longer holds the moral and diplomatic high ground needed to influence events. The U.S. is buffeted by events driven by others. Free people around the world are truly fortunate to have this current cast of undaunted European leaders who have learned to manage, ignore, and work around Trump for the benefit of democratic values. For exhibiting such tenacity, patience, and skill (not to mention self-control in refraining from laughing or hollering at Trump), they are deserving of our gratitude and praise.
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