Blessed Are The Peacemakers Who Prepare For War

Peace is breaking out all over, except in Europe, where Vladimir Putin is continuing to wage war on Ukraine, and Europe is bracing for more Russian aggression. President Trump’s hope for a Nobel Peace Prize is being dashed by Putin’s desire to make the American president look like a fool for trusting his commitment to “peace.”  

The only ones looking more foolish are those in the MAGA movement who depicted Putin as an innocent victim of the New World Order and somehow provoked into his invasion of Ukraine. These people, like Stephen K. Bannon and Tucker Carlson, were under the sway of Putin’s brain, the Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin. 

We just learned that Trump, during his first term, had threatened to bomb Russia if he invaded Ukraine, “With Putin, I said, ‘If you go into Ukraine, I'm going to bomb the s--t out of Moscow,’” Trump was heard saying on a recording. “He said ‘No way,’ and I said, ‘Way.’ And then he goes, ‘I don't believe you,’ but the truth is, he believed me 10 percent,” Trump added.

Putin didn’t invade during Trump’s first term and waited until Joe Biden took office, and the war continues under Trump the peacemaker.

Having been re-elected, Trump now seems to finally recognize that Putin is a killer who spouts disinformation and can’t be trusted, and that the only way to deal with the “former” KGB officer is through brute force. President Trump has been humiliated by Vladimir Putin by insisting for months that Russia wanted to settle the war. 

Trump should have read our 2014 book, Back from the Dead: The Return of the Evil Empire.

If President Trump has been correct about Fed chief Jerome “Jay” Powell’s “too late” approach to economic problems, what should we say about the president’s “too late” approach in recognizing the dangers of Vladimir Putin? It is a major miscalculation that threatens his Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump’s patience may now be coming to an end because, at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, he accused the Russian dictator of spreading “bull----” about the war against Ukraine. Trump said Putin seemed “nice” during their talks, but that his overtures for peace were “meaningless” because he only wants more war. 

Trump said he approved more “defensive” weapons for the beleaguered former Soviet republic, which was guaranteed independence and territorial integrity in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum that was signed by Russia.

Defensive weapons are a good start, but Ukraine needs much more. We must balance this, of course, with our own defense needs. But saving Ukraine benefits the United States.

The American Revolution wouldn’t have succeeded without the military support of France.

Why has Trump been “too late” on Russia? It’s because some in the MAGA movement, like Stephen K. Bannon and Tucker Carlson, had convinced Trump that the U.S. could get along with Russia. Hence, Trump said he would have the war against Ukraine settled on “Day One.” 

Trump now understands that the “art of the deal” doesn’t apply to communists. If he can call Zohran Mamdani a communist, perhaps he has finally understood that Putin never gave up his communist credentials.   

The entire line-up on the Real America’s Voice network that features Bannon’s “War Room” show has been wrong about Russia because the hosts take their orders and cues from Bannon. The channel seems more like Russia Today. 

Karen Siegemund, president of the American Freedom Alliance, has even honored Bannon with major speaking gigs and put Bannon on her advisory board. Bannon has also appeared under the auspices of Hillsdale College. 

Bannon is receiving a “Hero of Conscience” award from Siegemund in September. 

Referring to his incarceration, Siegemund says, “Steve Bannon is obviously one of those being silenced due to his effectiveness in standing up to tyranny, to the Marxist-Globalist-anti-American, anti-freedom forces and entities and who gives voice to all who feel similarly. His War Room show is a premier source for information and a platform for activists, for authors and speakers and analysts and all those fighting, in some way, for the freedoms that are emblematic of this nation.”

This is complete nonsense. Bannon refused to testify before the Democratic Party-controlled J6 committee and was convicted by a jury of contempt. As a private citizen, Bannon claimed executive privilege, without Trump’s authority to do so, and he went to prison. An appeals court upheld the conviction.

He also pleaded guilty to defrauding New Yorkers who donated to his “We Build the Wall” border security scheme.

The problem with Siegemund’s analysis of Bannon’s opposition to “globalist” anti-freedom forces is that it is dangerously misleading, if not false. He never opposed Putin’s aggression by supporting Ukraine. His position was that the U.S. should collaborate with Russia, supposedly to counter China. Instead, China and North Korea came to the aid of Russia, expanding the war and the threat to Europe.

As a result, NATO chief Mark Rutte is now predicting that China could start a third World War by trying to invade Taiwan, while Putin would attack NATO.

Bannon’s mistakes in that congressional case pale in comparison with the mistakes he and Trump made on Russia. Indeed, Trump’s “mistakes” in dealing with Putin are worse than Powell’s economic malpractice on inflation and interest rates.

Hopefully, Trump has learned a major lesson. He can’t trust certain people in the MAGA movement. 

Years ago, we published “The Big Lie Driving Russian Influence in the Conservative Movement and the Destruction of Ukraine,” analyzing this dangerous tendency in MAGA. It’s important for responsible conservatives to reject Bannon, Tucker, and their ilk. 

I don’t expect any applause for being right about Russia from those who joined Bannon, Tucker, and Trump in being wrong about the evil intentions of Vladimir Putin. But at least they should recognize that their leader, Trump, has made an about-face and has had a wake-up call. 

Let those who were in Putin’s corner and still defend him resign in disgrace.

Please, Ms. Siegemund, withdraw that award for Bannon and commit your organization to American freedom from communism.