Glenn Loury and John McWhorter are at their best when they disagree, and I enjoyed their discussion about the disastrous exchange between Trump, Vance, and Zelensky at the White House. Both agree that the U.S. is right to push for a negotiated settlement, which involves pressuring Ukraine to acknowledge its precarious position. However, they diverge on how this pressure was communicated and its potential repercussions. Glenn argues that Trump and the vice president rightly prioritized American interests by applying pressure on Zelensky, while John takes the opposite stance, framing his argument within a broader critique of the U.S. president and his administration.
Read MoreLast week, I questioned how seriously we should take the initial direction of Mr. Trump’s attempt to end the war in Ukraine—an approach that involves openly conceding to Russia’s demand for territorial annexation and a binding commitment to block Ukraine from NATO membership. This was followed by a bizarre attack on Zelensky on X, where the U.S. president accused his Ukrainian counterpart of being a dictator and of instigating the war. On Friday, scenes at the White House made it abundantly clear: we should take it very seriously indeed. On first glance, Noah Smith and Niall Ferguson were right, and I was wrong. The fates of the key players in this drama are deeply intertwined and will converge soon enough, but it’s worth examining them separately.
Read MoreWhat’s happening in Ukraine is important. The fog of war remains thick, but the incoming news is increasingly clear. Ukraine’s counteroffensive is progressing more quickly than even the most optimistic experts had predicted. The latest reports suggest that Ukraine is on the brink on retaking Donetsk, and its airport, which would be extraordinary. There are now signs that Ukraine’s success on the battlefield is being admitted on Russian state TV. Assuming this news out of Ukraine is even partly true, we are now, in my view, in a very dangerous phase of the conflict. I am saying this precisely because Ukraine’s offensive itself is morally and politically unchallengeable. Ukraine has a right to defend itself, and to exploit its military initiative. Considerations about Russia’s potential response to what can only be described as a humiliation are absent, in both Kyiv and Western capitals. Such considerations might arise soon enough, but for now the sentiment is clear. Russia is getting a good beating and it had it coming. I wholeheartedly agree.
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