Yesterday Trump made a major move in his attempt to end the Russian Ukrainian War. Frustrated by Putin’s actions and recalcitrance, Trump announced that the United States would be supplying major assistance to the Ukraine in the form of modern offensive and defensive weapons. This can be done quickly by having NATO nation provide weapons from their own stockpiles and then replenishing by purchases from American arms manufacturers. At the same time he warned Putin that, unless he agrees to a cease fire, in fifty days he will place severe secondary tariffs on any nation buying Russian products.

Brilliant! The Trump initiative accomplishes the following:

0 – European NATO nations will quickly rearm the Ukraine from their own stocks.

0 – At no cost to us, the Ukraine will receive a vast infusion of arms.

0 – United States arms manufacturers will get a triple boost – supplying NATO with replacement weapons (paid for by NATO) while restoring our own depleted stocks and producing new weapons for the American military.

0 – The threat of secondaty tariffs should cause China, India, Brazil and other purchasers of Russian products to pressure Putin to negotiate. Their purchases finance the Russian war machine, but American secondary tariffs could devastate their economies. Anything produced by Russia can be procured elsewhere.

Let’s pray that the gambit works.