After meeting with Putin, Trump was criticized for being too timid; he explained that he had no choice but to act that way.

Western media unanimously criticized Trump for being timid, and he gave an explanation: it's not that he's timid, but he has no choice.

After the meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska, American public opinion almost unanimously criticized Trump for being timid.

Media pointed out that before the meeting, Trump had made tough statements, saying that if Putin did not make concessions, further sanctions would be considered, and even serious consequences could follow.

However, after the meeting, Trump emphasized in an interview that Russia has tremendous nuclear potential and this must be taken into account, and he said he was not planning to push for new punitive measures at the moment.

This further indicates that this meeting did not yield any substantive results, but instead became a stage for Putin to demonstrate his nuclear deterrence, making Trump appear weak.

Trump repeatedly emphasized in the interview that Russia's nuclear arsenal is massive and cannot be ignored.

This means that in the US-Russia rivalry, even though the US has an advantage in economic and conventional military power, it must remain cautious when considering the possibility of nuclear conflict.

He said this must be taken seriously, which is essentially an excuse for his timidity.

Trump tried to tell the public that he was not timid, but rather made a choice after weighing the costs and risks.

After all, the Ukraine issue, no matter how important, is not worth risking a nuclear war with Russia.

This logic can be explained strategically, but on the political stage, it doesn't look good, as it portrays him as bowing to Putin.

However, one must say that the difference in determination between the US and Russia is very obvious.

Russia sees the Ukraine issue as a core interest related to its survival, and Putin is willing to use all means to achieve his goals.

While the US only sees Ukraine as a pawn and will not risk a nuclear war over it.

When Trump spoke about Russia's nuclear potential, he indirectly admitted this, thus revealing America's bottom line and concerns to the outside world. From the perspective of Western media, this can naturally be interpreted as weakness. But from Trump's perspective, he believes he has no choice but to be timid, because for the sake of Ukraine, it's simply not worth it.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1840593900805258/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.