President Trump’s lunatic new diesel deal hands Russia billions of dollars, which allows it to continue its war on Ukrainian cities. At the same time, he irrationally blames Ukraine for hitting Russian refineries.
Trump announced late Friday that the United States will buy up to 4.8 million tons of Russian diesel. That starts with 300,000 tons right away, 500,000 in November, and one million more soon after. The rest depends on Russia’s refineries. The U.S. Treasury lifted some sanctions through April 7 so the fuel can ship. Trump claimed this will slash diesel prices. That claim is false. The full 36 million barrels equal less than two days of global diesel use. Market analysts and economists across the board call the volumes a drop in the bucket that will do almost nothing to lower prices. The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air estimates the deal will earn Russian oil companies about $4.5 billion. Russia plans to raise defense spending 27 percent to more than $202 billion in 2027. This is a major transfer of cash to the Kremlin for virtually no benefit to American drivers or the U.S. economy.
Trump blamed Ukraine for diesel shortages caused by strikes on Russian refineries and threatened to cut intelligence sharing if the attacks continue. This is irrationally one-sided. Russia and its partners have hit energy targets in the Middle East, yet the pressure lands only on Kyiv. Russian glide bombs killed at least 20 people, including three children, in Zaporizhzhia. Earlier strikes killed 22, including five children, in Pryluky and 33 in Kramatorsk.
Last month Trump signed Lindsey Graham’s bill for new sanctions on buyers of Russian oil. That step was meant to starve Russia of money for its war on Ukraine. Now Trump himself is buying the diesel, undercutting the sanctions he just signed into law. The contradiction is breathtaking. He appears to have no idea what he is doing.
This moronic deal funds Putin’s war machine and leaves Ukraine to absorb the bombs. You cannot run a presidency by issuing actions that cancel each other out. The result is no coherent policy, and the energy sector cannot plan when no one can predict the next move from the White House.
Trump 1.0 was at least rational in his ignorance. Trump 2.0 adds irrationality to the mix. The problem in gauging how much is how much he rambles off the cuff. I'd rather other politicians spoke just as candidly, but they don't, and Biden didn't even know what his handlers were telling him to do half the time. I'm glad Trump is dismantling wokism and cutting back regulations however little, but the rest is just irrational floundering. We live in ... interesting ... times.