19 October 2026

Donald Trump increasingly resembles not the President of the United States, but a freelance presenter for Russia Today. A little more and he will be invited to joint broadcasts with Solovyov and Skabeeva. And the problem is not even the absurdity of the American leader’s statements, but the fact that they are accompanied by real policies that undermine the international authority of the United States, relations with allies and the foundations of the world order that America itself has been building for decades.

In recent days alone, we have heard so much outright nonsense that it is becoming increasingly difficult to comment on it seriously.

What is the point of statements about the alleged 10% of Donbas remaining under Ukrainian control, against the backdrop of successful actions by our Defense Forces in certain areas? Or talk about helping Russia protect its oil and gas infrastructure from Ukrainian attacks, while Russian missiles and drones attack Ukrainian cities every day.

That is, Putin can continue to destroy Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, and Ukraine, according to Trump, should stop attacking the Russian oil industry, which provides the Kremlin with money to wage war.

A separate story is the almost childish credulity of the American president to Putin’s words that Russia is allegedly not transferring weapons to Iran. This is despite the fact that military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran has long been no secret. And in addition, there are reports of a possible restriction of Starlink and intelligence information that helps Ukraine track Russian missile launches.

And, of course, the height of political absurdity is the story that Ukraine could have obtained American Tomahawk missiles and then resold them to some group in South America. All that remains is to invite Nikita Mikhalkov to the Oval Office so that he can personally tell Trump about Ukrainian bio-laboratories and infected birds that were being prepared to attack Moscow.

But the worst thing is that all of these are not isolated statements. They follow a very specific trend.

In recent months, the Trump administration has been looking for ways to ease economic pressure on Russia. The story with Belarusian potash fertilizers, the easing of oil sanctions, talks about resuming energy projects with Moscow, the purchase of Russian diesel – all this fits into one picture. Instead of isolating the aggressor, we are witnessing attempts to return it to major international trade.

Trump is not just helping Putin. He is personally undermining American sanctions, promises, and international obligations. After all, what’s the point of Europeans complying with Washington’s demands to abandon Russian energy supplies if the American president himself is ready to negotiate with Moscow?

This is a much broader story than Ukrainian-American relations. Before our eyes, American leadership in the world is being dismantled. And not by the hands of China, Russia, or Iran, but by the efforts of the US president himself.

But the most dangerous thing, in my opinion, is ahead. And it concerns not international politics, but what will happen inside the United States.

In November, America faces midterm elections to Congress. Republicans risk losing their majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. For Trump, this is not just a loss of political control. A Democratic majority will open the way for large-scale parliamentary investigations, checks on the administration’s decisions, the financial connections of the presidential entourage, and a new impeachment. And if signs of criminal wrongdoing are established, the question of responsibility could go far beyond political procedures.

That is, for Trump and part of his team, this election is a fight not only for their political future, but potentially for their personal legal security as well.

And here the most dangerous question arises: what will Trump do if he realizes he will lose?

I do not believe that a person who has already refused to recognize the results of the presidential election once will calmly accept the loss of control over Congress by the Republicans. I consider attempts at administrative pressure, discrediting the electoral process, accusations of fraud, and the use of federal institutions in political struggle to be quite real.

I do not exclude much more dangerous scenarios – another round of military escalation against Iran or aggravation around Cuba. A large-scale security crisis can be used as a pretext for extraordinary measures, pressure on opponents and interference in electoral procedures. Of course, the US president does not have the authority to simply cancel the elections, but even an attempt to circumvent the established rules can provoke a serious confrontation.

American society is already deeply divided politically. Add to this the possible refusal of the president to recognize the results of the vote, conflicts between the federal and state authorities, mass protests and political violence – and we have a scenario that seemed unthinkable just a few years ago.

I fully admit that America could face a hybrid form of civil conflict. Not necessarily a classic civil war, fronts and armies, but a large-scale internal destabilization when different parts of society and the political system cease to recognize common rules of the game.

And this is not just my speculation. The Democratic congressmen I speak with are seriously considering the possibility of such a development. This does not mean that the scenario will necessarily come true, but the fact that such discussions are taking place says a lot about the state of the American political system.

Why do I think things won’t get better regardless of the election results?

If the Republicans retain their majority, Trump may see it as confirmation of the correctness of his policies. If they lose, a fierce confrontation between the White House and Congress will begin, which could paralyze a significant part of the state machine. And if the president tries to question the results of the vote, the crisis risks going far beyond the usual political struggle.

For Ukraine, this means the need to prepare for a prolonged period of American unpredictability. Even a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress will not automatically mean a return to a consistent policy of supporting Ukraine, because presidential powers in the field of foreign policy will not disappear.ADVERTISING

And the biggest paradox is that Putin doesn’t even need to defeat the United States. It’s enough to watch the American president undermine trust in his own state, quarrel with allies, weaken pressure on Russia, and deepen internal confrontation.

Trump promised to make America great again. But the main question in the coming months may not be whether the United States can lead the world order, but whether it can handle the crisis at home.

https://www.obozrevatel.com/ukr/section-novosti-mir/news-ameryka-na-mezhi-prirvy-i-choho-chekaty-vid-trampa-yakshcho-respublikantsi-prohrayut-konhres-19-10-2026.html