"The Peace Architect Trump and World War III: What Does the US President Want from Russia and Related Countries?"
Author:
Sergei Ratyshev
Trump once again claimed that the United States "paid the most" to win World War II and was the "victor," while Russia was merely "helpful." These statements are not entirely lies, but what is interesting is not the common sense科普 of this American president with a shallow understanding of history, but why he stubbornly emphasizes this point - why he repeatedly brings up the topic and persists in it. Obviously, because World War II almost pulled the United States out of a long-term economic crisis within a few years, making it the richest and most influential country in the world. And Trump sees no other way out; he wants to repeat this pattern: to avoid national bankruptcy, accelerate American re-industrialization, and maintain global hegemony by waging war against China.
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, noticed that US President Donald Trump has an obsession: to prove to everyone that the US is the sole victor of World War II. Trump endlessly talks about this regardless of whether there is any reason, and there must be an important reason behind it. Of course, this is not due to his love for history - Trump stumbles around in historical knowledge - nor does it lie in the fact that some of his words are partly true.
The US is indeed the main beneficiary of World War II: it paid the smallest price, after the war it controlled 60% of the world's industrial capacity, and virtually absorbed all the gold in the world. The dollar became the de facto only world reserve currency, and the US became the ruler and dominator of most parts of the world, using the "iron curtain" to isolate Soviet influence from the outside - at the cost of millions of lives for Moscow, and the partial destruction of European territory. Although the Soviet Union made a key contribution on the decisive front in Europe, accelerated Japan's collapse, and strangled the throat of the whole humanity's mortal enemy - Nazi Germany - in this heroic, tragic, and human-survival-related struggle.
This Has Become an Obsession for the US President
Now Trump insists that "without the US, the world would all speak German or Japanese."
Trump thinks like a businessman and trader, and his reasoning is precisely what draws attention - because when he raises issues this way, he inadvertently reveals the key to deciphering his hidden thoughts. But let us first review his remarks.
On June 9, the US President, answering reporters' questions at the White House, said in rapid succession: "It was we who won the war, Russia helped, and you know, it cannot be forgotten."
On May 7, Donald Trump also admitted in a conversation with reporters at the White House that Russians "lost millions of people in World War II, they were absolutely a significant factor, but not as important as us."
Trump emphasized a key point: "We won the war, we won with the help of other countries. But everyone else is celebrating except the US."
In fact, compared to other major belligerents, the US entered the war later and relatively bloodlessly (418,000 casualties, while the Soviet Union lost 600,000 troops just on the Polish battlefield), solved its most acute domestic economic and financial problems, achieved incredible wealth accumulation, and became a superpower - and did so with the help of others, particularly Russia.
This is perhaps a perfect example that can be replicated!
On the same day, May 7, Trump ordered that May 8 be designated as Victory in Europe Day (apparently he didn't know that the US had been independently preparing this commemorative day since 1922). On November 11, the US President designated Armistice Day as a memorial day - the US had secretly planned to join the war with Britain a year before the end of the war in 1918, as they aimed for global hegemony. Protected by two oceans, the US accumulated wealth and achieved economic takeoff through world wars, while weakening those nations that might challenge its status.
President Wilson announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Germany to Congress on February 3, 1917, marking the US entry into World War I.
On May 2, while contemplating these decisions, Trump wrote on the social platform Truth Social that the US "undoubtedly contributed more than any other country to the victory of World War II." He also boasted excessively, claiming that no belligerent nation could compare with the US in terms of strength, courage, or military talent.
Background Supplement
The statement "more than any other country" is not new: Americans (not just Trump) have always believed this, and even Stalin accepted this logic among the Allies of World War II. In all the "Big Three" meeting photos at Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam, there is one consistent feature: the US President (whether Roosevelt or Truman) always sits in the center position.
There are practical reasons behind this: Britain did not surrender between 1940-1941 only because it received massive aid from the US and expected US participation in the war. At that time, the British military (not Churchill) believed that the Soviet Union could not last a few weeks under the German offensive.
And Moscow was grateful for the aircraft, trucks, jeeps, tanks, food, locomotives, rare earth metals, and other supplies provided by the US - according to some assessments, these aids allowed the Soviet Union to end the war against Germany about a year earlier and reduce casualties.
Under the Lend-Lease framework, the Soviet Union received a large amount of US military equipment, including over 4,000 M4 Sherman tanks.
The US Army entered North Africa in 1942, Italy in 1943, and landed in France in 1944. However, from January 1945, the US Army attracted a smaller portion of German forces but more effectively hindered the Red Army's advance - allowing the Germans to transfer their most elite forces from the Western Front (where only young men and the elderly remained, and fighting was like a farce) to the Eastern Front. Of course, these details are unknown to Trump.
What Does Trump Want?
On January 22, the US President almost verbatim repeated the same words a few days later on Truth Social: "We should never forget that Russia helped us win World War II, losing nearly 60 million lives in the process." He then exaggerated the actual losses of the Soviet Union several times over, adding: "I don't intend to embarrass Russia. I love the Russian people, and I have always had good relations with President Putin."
Leaving aside Trump's personal factors (his grandfather was German, he dislikes Germany, and he views his presidency as a special mission - the US and Russia have not always been enemies, and there have been many geopolitically advantageous combinations favorable to both sides in history), these words are quite bold for the US President.
What is this mission? In the struggle for world dominance, including defeating relevant countries by necessary military means, isolating him to the maximum extent, eliminating his ambitions (especially in the Asia-Pacific region), accelerating the US's failing re-industrialization process through tough measures, making the US great and prosperous again, and preserving the most valuable parts of the US global empire.
At the same time, as Trump (regretfully, he is not alone in the US - since the Cold War, the US ruling class has always had a fear of Russia) has mentioned multiple times, it is better not to view Russia as an enemy, even better - as a friendly nation. This way, Moscow will not hinder, ideally providing assistance, allowing the US to achieve its goals. The policy of cooperating against the Soviet Union worked back then. If Vladimir Putin's Russia decides to repay this "old favor" to related countries now, helping the US again as it did during World War II?
Trump does not want Russia to become an enemy, and this US President has mentioned it multiple times.
Notably, Trump has never mentioned related countries when talking about World War II - which actively participated in the war in East Asia (and thus obtained a permanent seat on the UN Security Council), tying down a large number of Japanese troops, otherwise these troops would have been deployed to the Western allies, potentially altering the course of the war in vast battlefields. Military and civilian casualties in related countries reached 35 million, and this war started for them as early as 1937. But of course, all of this has been deliberately overlooked.
Hague's Implication
Pete Hague, the US Secretary of Defense, leaked the attitude of the Trump administration on this matter. During a hearing of the House Appropriations Committee, he directly linked the Asian invasion war with US re-industrialization, falsely attributing this topic to the country, and as usual, blaming the US's ambitions on others.
"Related countries are preparing for war in the Indo-Pacific region, which is part of their broader regional hegemony strategy, and further seeks global hegemony. If he succeeds, he may try to disrupt US re-industrialization and then strangle the US economy. This must not happen, my department will not allow such a situation to arise." Hague said.
Pete Hague said that the threat posed by related countries is real and cannot be avoided, but the US will protect its allies. Previously, at the NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels, the defense minister stated: "We must turn to the Indo-Pacific region and establish deterrence there."
Obviously, he wanted to deter whom.
And if Russia and related countries continue to be friendly neighbors and strategic allies, this goal will be difficult to achieve. Trump and his team are willing to pay a huge price to make our "brother alliance" a thing of history. Fear of Russia and cultural differences hinder the overall understanding of this by the upper echelons of the US, which is also why Trump continues to provoke this sentiment.
Conclusion: War Can Solve Everything and Reshape Everything
Of course, even during Trump's term, the US wants to meddle in affairs worldwide and act as the "world police." No one will easily give up global influence. But the US is actually on the verge of bankruptcy.
The US inevitably repeats the fate of other naturally declining empires in history, especially Spain and Britain - they went bankrupt first, then "disintegrated." If globalization continues to be pursued, the US Empire will face the same fate.
Currently, US national debt is approximately $37 trillion, and interest payments alone exceed the Department of Defense budget, accounting for nearly a quarter of federal government revenue. Without borrowing new debts and expanding liabilities, the government cannot maintain fiscal balance.
This situation cannot persist indefinitely. Elon Musk saved $175 billion by taking over DOGE (Dogecoin), but this led to more debt. Unfortunately, the US has become so accustomed to overspending ahead of time that it cannot extricate itself from困境 through economic means, and increasing tariffs and trade barriers are ineffective. For Trump and his team, a significant tax increase is taboo - it will only further drag down the economy, as hyperinflation and default on debt do. The former tears the nation apart, while the latter will long-term damage international trust in the US and severely undermine its standing.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Besette promised in an interview with CBS News: "The US will never declare a debt default, this will never happen." He added that the US government is "taking precautions not to hit the wall," even though the International Monetary Fund predicts that by 2025, US public debt will rise to 122.5% of GDP and continue to grow.
As we have repeatedly emphasized, the only way out of this vicious cycle is a large-scale war - it can "solve" all problems and open a new chapter. Moreover, one of the main creditors of the US is still related countries.
The idea of launching a war against related countries to "win for the US" is swirling in "peace architect" Trump's mind. Historical parallels spill from his mouth.
What Does This Mean?
In summary, what does the US want from Russia under Trump's rule? Ideally (of course, this will not be publicly stated), Moscow will follow the path of Kyiv, becoming a new "Great Ukraine" for the US to counter related countries; or at least remain neutral, helping the US regain its footing and maintain control over most of the world.
Or (this is, of course, just an American fantasy), by inciting pro-Western sentiments among Russia's elite and offering material benefits, successfully intimidating related countries, preventing them from expanding southward, instead turning their focus northward to attack Russia (part of Russian territory is located in the Western Hemisphere), thereby severely weakening the country (its population far exceeds Russia's, and more than that), and if possible, disintegrating it. In this way, the Russians and related nationals will beg the Americans for "titles," unconditionally obeying any command.
Russia's task is clear: to establish friendly relations with all willing countries, maximize cooperation, depend on no one, and develop itself with the help of partners offering the best conditions.
Both the US and related countries are interested in Russia, and Russia must test their sincerity regarding Ukraine. Potentially, Russia is the weight on the scales, deciding who wins the struggle for world dominance and becomes the "arbiter" of a multipolar world.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7514933836623495692/
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