What did Donald Trump do today?
He tried to blame Ukraine for problems he caused.
Yesterday, Trump announced that he'd brokered a deal with the Putin regime to purchase Russian diesel, even though the United States is the world's largest exporter of diesel, and Russia was so desperate to augment its own reserves that it had to secretly import hundreds of thousands of tons from South Korea.
Tomorrow, the first shipment of that diesel is expected to arrive in the Port of Wilmington on the tanker Minerva Zen. It left a Russian port 17 days ago, meaning that Trump's "deal" had been concluded in secret long before he informed the American public. (Trump has often colluded with the Putin regime to keep secrets from Americans about his actions as president; this is a rare case in which the Russian government didn't expose him itself.)
Today, however, Trump may have revealed his motives, by blaming the spike in diesel prices on Ukrainian attacks on Russian fuel infrastructure. He fumed about how Ukraine's president needed to be "replaced" for not surrendering to Russia, then blamed Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure for driving up the price of diesel.
“Zelenskyy could’ve stopped this war many times, and he chose not to … he better damn well stop” — Trump is no longer trying to conceal that he’s fully on Putin’s side
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) October 10, 2026 at 11:53 AM
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It's true that Ukraine has attacked Russian oil facilities, which are legitimate military targets, unlike the apartment building that Russia destroyed today, killing 20 or more Ukrainian civilians. (Trump has not commented on this or any other Russian attack against civilians.)
But the main reason diesel fuel is expensive is the chokehold on oil through the Persian Gulf, which is the direct result of Trump's attack on Iran.
Trump, who is personally and politically beholden to the Putin regime, has found it all but impossible to even mildly criticize Vladimir Putin, much less take action against Russia. Today, Trump said that the Russia-Ukraine war started "for no reason" other than Ukrainian "incompetence." In reality, Russia invaded and annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014, then launched a surprise decapitation attack against the remainder of the country and its government in 2022. Since then, it has killed approximately 200,000 Ukrainians (including more than 10,000 civilians), stolen Ukrainian children from parents in occupied territory, and committed numerous war crimes.
The "deal" that Zelenskyy didn't make was a Russian-authored, Trump-endorsed surrender plan. It would have given Russia all currently-occupied Ukrainian territory and then some, ceded the country's mineral wealth to the United States, and forced Ukraine to supply Russia with electricity. What remained of Ukraine would be forbidden to enter into security arrangements with other countries, and would be at constant risk of reinvasion when Russia recovered from the unexpectedly fierce fight that Ukraine has put up so far.
In other words, by Trump's logic, Ukraine's government should have surrendered on the terms proposed by Russia so that Donald Trump would be more popular, and that this alone justifies Trump personally switching his allegiance openly to the Putin regime.
In what may be related news, Trump addressed a rally in the Republican-friendly state of Tennessee today, where he mocked his carefully screened supporters by saying "I could say the stupidest things and you'd clap."
Why does this matter?
- Ukrainians are allowed to fight for their very existence even if it's politically inconvenient for Donald Trump.
- American foreign policy should reflect what Americans want, not what Vladimir Putin wants.
- Trump betraying our allies is a disgrace to the United States, and worse when it's for corrupt purposes.