Trump Has the U.S. Switching Sides in Ukraine, and NATO Could be Next

Picking fights with longtime friends instead of working with them against joint adversaries is a recipe for American weakness and global instability

NATO is in serious trouble, and with it, the post-Cold War international order. For the first time in the alliance’s 75 year history, its most powerful member is pulling back, and may be effectively pulling out.

In Brussels, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lectured that the United States could not be “focused on the security of Europe,” because “consequential threats to our homeland” means the U.S. must focus “on security of our own borders.” But countering Russia in Europe and managing the U.S.-Mexico border are not trade-offs; the U.S. can and should do both.

Hegseth’s statement makes more sense as an excuse — one that might play with the MAGA base back home, but with few elsewhere — signaling a broader strategic shift away from alliances with rule-of-law democracies. Under the new Donald Trump administration, the United States will be friendlier to, and act more like, authoritarian governments such as Russia and China.

The first big impact will be in Ukraine. America is effectively switching sides, from helping Ukraine resist Russia’s attack to helping Russia gain concessions.

Hegseth declared that the United States not only refuses…

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