"Trump Has Been Against Ukraine From the Start": Vitaly Portnikov Explains What Lies Behind His Actions

The journalist and publicist believes that the change in the U.S. president's rhetoric toward Ukraine is no surprise. In his view, Trump has opposed Ukrainian aid since the beginning of his political career, while modern politics increasingly depends on information technologies and money.

Віталій Портников / Фото: Твоє місто

today at 3:43 PM

U.S. President Donald Trump has not changed his attitude toward Ukraine, since from the start of his political career he sought to limit American assistance to Kyiv. Instead, his political success became one of the manifestations of how information technologies and money influence society and political decisions. This view was expressed by journalist and publicist Vitaly Portnikov during a meeting of the Club of Experts "Your city" October 14.

A few weeks ago, the American president expressed positive views about Ukraine, but later announced an agreement with Russia regarding the supply to the world market of 300 thousand tons of Russian diesel fuel, with the prospect of increasing volumes.

Against this backdrop, Ukraine announced its intention to continue long-range strikes on Russian energy facilities, despite the agreements between Washington and Moscow. There were also reports of a warning to Ukraine about a possible suspension of intelligence-sharing if strikes on Russian energy infrastructure continue.

Also read: "We will burn Russian refineries": Ukraine responds to Trump's agreement with Putin

Trump himself said that it is time for Ukraine to elect a new president, and that Volodymyr Zelensky supposedly could have ended the war many times but did not do so. The American president also criticized Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries, claiming they create problems for the world and harm American farmers.

Answering a question about what lies behind Trump's behavior, Portnikov suggested considering it in a broader context – through changes in politics, the influence of information technologies and money on society.

We are simply living in the Matrix"

The journalist recalled Stanislaw Lem's book "Summa Technologiae"...

"And all of this was written several decades ago, and we are simply living in it now, without Lem," Portnikov noted.

In his view, modern electoral processes in the U.S. and other countries, including Ukraine, increasingly resemble less a competition of political ideas and values.

"We all understand perfectly well that the recent electoral events in the U.S., in many other countries, including Ukraine, by the way, are not a triumph of political competition, not a triumph of common sense, not a competition of values and ideas. It is a triumph of information technologies. And of money. And of money with which information technologies are bought," he said.

The journalist believes that the influence of digital platforms, information technologies and financial resources on politics is so great that society does not always realize how its view of the world is formed.

"We are simply living in the Matrix. Not even realizing it. And Donald Trump is a vivid embodiment of the victory of this very Matrix. A person without any values, without any views, with a thirst for profit, with a readiness to change his interests literally within 24 hours, precisely for the sake of this thirst for profit. A person who seems to have escaped into the Oval Office from the caricatures in the magazine Krokodil and Perets about American imperialists. We laughed at them and thought how primitive the Soviet propagandists were when they created this image of Uncle Sam. Moreover, we had never seen such people, including in America. And suddenly it turned out that one can literally, in a test tube of new information technologies, breed such a character and make him President of the United States of America." Portnikov emphasized.

"Trump has been against Ukraine from the first day of his political career"

Portnikov does not agree with the claim that Donald Trump has only recently changed his attitude toward Ukraine. According to him, the American president had previously tried to limit support for Kyiv, and positive statements did not mean a change in his political position.

"So when they say that Trump has suddenly changed position... Trump has been against Ukraine from the first day of his political career, from the very moment he appeared in the White House. He tried to halt aid to us," the journalist stated.

He recalled that the supply of Javelin anti-tank systems to Ukraine during Trump's first term took place, in particular, under pressure from Congress, where Democrats then held the majority.

According to Portnikov, Trump also sought agreements with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his first presidential term. At that time, part of his team tried to restrain such initiatives.

The journalist also mentioned the blocking of American aid to Ukraine in Congress when Trump was no longer president. In his assessment, this had direct consequences for Ukraine at the front.

"What was the result? As a result, we lost Avdiivka. This is a direct result of Donald Trump's activity, not as president of the United States," Portnikov said.

He also recalled the conflict between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. In the journalist's view, this conflict became a pretext for the American president to complicate further support for Ukraine.

According to Portnikov, the weakening of US influence will have negative consequences, since American support remains important for Ukraine. At the same time, he drew attention to the possibility of strengthening the role of Congress, which may limit the president's actions.

"Right now we hope that changes in Congress may lead to an increase in aid to us, because Trump will be forced to reckon with Congress, which he currently does not reckon with," the journalist noted.

It should be noted that meeting The "Club of Experts" with Vitaliy Portnikov took place at Lem Station in partnership with the Western Ukrainian office of the European Business Association (EBA) with the support of the company Blago. Follow the pages of "Your City" to read and watch the full conversation with the journalist and publicist.