Trump appeasement

The UK hopes to mask its powerlessness by massaging the ego of the US President.

- BY ANDREW ANTHONY

Ever since the Brexit referendum nine years ago, the UK has been mired in angst and uncertainty, one symptom of which has been the procession of six different prime ministers in that time. Given this general air of socio-economic malaise, it’s been hard to say just what effect the war in Ukraine has had on national morale.

When, eight years after it annexed Crimea, Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the situation was quite straightforward for most Britons. Russia was the bullying aggressor and Ukraine the plucky defender of its national territory, deserving of our sympathy and solidarity. Many people took in Ukrainian refugees, and, rather late in the day, the UK government instituted sanctions on Russian trade and individuals. While the moral case hasn't changed much, other than at the extremes of political debate, there is little consensus about what needs to be done.

The second term of Donald Trump has utterly changed our relationship with the world at large, because so much of that relationship - economic, military, cultural - was conducted within the American sphere of influence. Now, all that we took for granted is under disruptive challenge.

Nato, the so-called “special relationship” and the idea that the US is our firmest ally in dealing with Russia aggression - all of it is being torn up by the Trump administration.