Trump fails to pressure Putin because he only sees money as tool in global politics — political analyst

He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

“Trump sees himself as a master dealmaker. But the problem is that he comes from business - big business, to be exact. I’d even say a rather specific kind: construction and, most importantly, the gambling industry. Trump didn’t just come from that world - he was quite successful in it, he became a billionaire. And he believes that the methods and styles of negotiation, communication, and pressure that defined his business career can be applied to international politics. He genuinely doesn’t understand what he might be doing wrong, since he thinks he’s doing everything ‘right,’ the way he’s always done it. The way that made him a billionaire - and yet, for some reason, it’s not working here,” he noted.

According to Serhii Taran, U.S. President Donald Trump believes that it’s possible to make deals with Putin by offering him money or favorable agreements. In Trump’s worldview, everything has a price, and anything can be resolved through bargaining.

"On the one hand, it’s not entirely bad - if a politician understands what motivates them, what matters most in life, then it’s easier to negotiate with them because they’re more predictable. For example, Putin’s main motivation isn’t money - there’s something else driving him, and that’s much worse for the world. But on the other hand, Trump, having only one tool - money - cannot grasp the full complexity of international politics. So he tries - and I wouldn’t rule out that he genuinely tries - to bargain, to use money as leverage, as cynical as that may sound. But it doesn’t work. And that’s one reason why he approaches other instruments of global politics so cautiously - he simply doesn’t fully understand or know them," the political analyst said.

For Donald Trump, money and tariffs - which essentially mean money to him - are understandable tools.

But complex geopolitics, forming alliances or security blocs, understanding the balance of power and different political regimes - these are much more difficult concepts for the current U.S. president to grasp.

“And there’s another reason why it’s so hard for Trump to use other tools,” Serhii Taran noted. “Trump made a lot of promises during his election campaign and while serving as president. He promised to annex Canada, to acquire Greenland, to buy the Gaza Strip and build it up. He promised to strip Iran of nuclear weapons. I could go on - Panama Canal and many more.

And if we look at the list of Trump’s pledges and intentions, freezing the Russian-Ukrainian war actually seems like the most realistic one compared to the others. That’s why Trump believes that just a little more effort - and he’ll succeed. And he really needs that success, because so far he hasn’t fulfilled any major promise he made during his campaign. So he thinks one more call with Putin, just a little more - and it’ll work. And Putin understands that, so he feeds him those crumbs of hope.”

• On Monday, May 19, U.S. President Donald Trump held a telephone conversation with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Trump stated that Russia and Ukraine will immediately begin negotiations on a ceasefire and an end to the war.
• U.S. President Donald Trump had two phone calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The first took place before his call with Vladimir Putin.