Ukrainians Are Losing Trust in the U.S., & They Are Not the Only Ones

Trump infamously withheld military aid towards Ukraine, asking for a favor before releasing the much-needed aid for the country that is still fighting Russians on the eastern part of the country, where they lost the Crimea just years ago.

We all know that Trump was caught, and that he was impeached by the House of Representatives, as this was deemed grossly inappropriate conduct by a president who was using his leverage as president to withhold the aid until the Ukrainian president did Trump a favor that would clearly help Trump out politically here at home. It should again be noted that our ally, Ukraine, needed our military assistance.

Not surprisingly, this whole fiasco has greatly shaken the faith of Ukrainians in Americans.

Can you blame them?

We elected a "leader" who manipulated them, who effectively blackmailed their president to do him a favor before the military aid was released. He was in no position to say no, since again, that aid was much needed. Ukraine is the poorest country in Europe presently, and their neighbor to the east, Russia, is a powerful country. 

Under the Trump administration, the United States seems to be squandering a lot of goodwill and trust towards this country, by virtue of the arrogance and entitlement that too many Americans are guilty of, and which we now have as de facto American policy by virtue of having elected a man like Trump to be our face and voice of the nation, for the whole world to see. We used to proudly call ourselves "the leaders of the free world." Ronald Reagan, the man most self-identified conservatives hold as the model president, claimed that the United States was the "shining city on the hill."

As a nation, we ate it up. 

Now, we accept that Trump is making enemies out of former allies, and that most of the rest of the world is viewing us with growing distrust and skepticism, and even simply dismissal as not a serious country.

Frankly, they are not wrong. With Trump, we seem to be making a point of antagonizing countries that we have traditionally long been allies with. Increasingly, these nations are doing their own thing, working together around the United States, instead of with the United States, in order to get things done with international cooperation. Trade deals are being agreed to in to, as is action on climate change and trying to keep Iran free of nuclear weapons. 

Truth be told, I believe that this trend is only beginning. The longer Trump stays in office, the more we will see this, and the more adamant these actions will be, for that matter.

The Ukrainians are not the only ones who's faith in the United States has been completely, and perhaps irrevocably, shaken during these Trump years. 

'No Longer A Friend': Ukrainians Are Losing Faith In The U.S. February 4, 20201:45 PM ET Lucian Kim:

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/04/802231068/no-longer-a-friend-ukrainians-are-losing-faith-in-the-u-s?utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews&utm_campaign=npr&utm_source=facebook.com&fbclid=IwAR1YSwrcAe3If5CymeMhz4Orth7iSIGLIdkZoTLdpvZPs5WtgUN_Ln4fmjI