Trump Has a Chance To Stop Putin But He Can't Do It Alone | Opinion

Donald Trump’s second-term foreign policy is looking more like a series of missteps than a coherent strategy. Instead of strengthening America’s hand, it’s alienating allies, pushing India closer to Russia, creating economic uncertainty with sudden tariff shifts, cutting development aid, and doubling down on support for an Israeli prime minister whose military campaign has drawn widespread condemnation.

His latest attempt to end the grinding war in Ukraine may have backfired most of all. After weeks of threatening sanctions if Vladimir Putin refused a ceasefire, Trump met the Russian leader in Alaska only to retreat from that stance. Putin walked away with legitimacy, no concessions, and continued freedom to target Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, at a time when Russia’s economy was already under strain.

Even more troubling, Trump seems prepared to press Ukraine into territorial concessions, not only giving up Crimea but also Donetsk, Luhansk, and perhaps even its strategic Black Sea provinces. Such an outcome would reward one of the gravest breaches of international law in Europe since World War II and embolden dictators everywhere.

In exchange, Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is floating a so-called “security guarantee” from the U.S., U.K., and France if Russia makes future land grabs. The problem is that Ukraine was already promised protection back in 1994 under the Budapest Memorandum, when it gave up its nuclear arsenal. That agreement collapsed the moment Putin invaded. In other words, Putin has every reason to dismiss another Western guarantee as meaningless.

Ironically, Trump isn’t entirely wrong that sanctions could work. Economic pressure, when applied collectively and consistently, has the potential to change Putin’s calculus. But Trump’s mistake is thinking the U.S. alone can succeed. As the late Senator John McCain once argued, a global alliance of democracies not just NATO but also partners in Asia and the southern hemisphere would carry far more weight.

Imagine if such a coalition included NATO, the EU, South Korea, Japan, Australia, the Philippines, and ideally India. Together, they could ban Russian trade, impose punishing tariffs on any nation still dealing with Moscow, and cut off Russia’s oil and gas revenue by replacing it with new supply chains for Europe and India. That kind of united front would leave Putin cornered and force China to reconsider whether propping up Russia is worth the economic cost.

This sort of broad alliance could eventually evolve into more than a sanctions coalition. It could be a free trade bloc of democratic nations, giving it both economic and security strength. Done right, it would mirror NATO’s success in binding nations together under a common purpose: protecting freedom and stability.

The sad reality is that Europe had opportunities to act much sooner but hesitated, relying once again on the U.S. to lead. Even today, European leaders are playing catch-up while Ukraine continues to bleed. Trump is right about one thing: appeasement has been Europe’s habit for decades, and it has weakened NATO. But instead of unilateral threats and retreats, what’s really needed is inspiring leadership that brings the world’s democracies together.