Two days ago, following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly session in New York, Donald Trump posted a shocking 180-degree turn-around of his assessment of Ukraine’s position vis-a-vis Vladimir Putin’s ongoing invasion.

After months of telling Zelensky that he didn’t “have the cards” to prevail against Putin, he now seems to think that Ukraine “is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form.” [Zeeshan Aleem, MSNBC Daily, September 25, 2025.]

He even called Russia a “paper tiger.” [Id.]

After presumably seething for a couple of days, Putin has now — through his spokesman Dmitry Peskov — responded:

“Russia is more compared with a bear. There are no paper bears.” [Id.]

Vladimir Putin does not tolerate criticism of himself or his country . . . anymore than Trump does. He will not slink off into a corner and lick his wounds. He will back up his words with action, most likely directed at the already beleaguered citizens of Ukraine.

While I applaud Trump’s support of Ukraine (and hope it lasts), I doubt that name-calling was the best way to get through to Putin. But that’s what Trump does when diplomacy fails . . . he resorts to insults and bullying.

Only his intended victim in this case is no pushover.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/25/25