In 1939, a failed Norwegian politician named Vidkun Quisling met with Adolf Hitler to urge that the Nazis invade and occupy Norway. In 1940, following the Nazi invasion Quisling proclaimed himself head of the government of Norway. His regime lasted one week before collapsing. Nevertheless, he continued to serve in the occupation government and was named “Minister President” in 1942 by the Third Reich.[1] During the Nuremberg war crimes trial in December 1946 a trove of documents concerning Quisling were admitted into evidence. William L Shirer, who was covering the trial, wrote,
“This peculiar Norwegian, the German documents make clear, was more enthusiastic about a German occupation of Norway then were the Germans themselves. In fact, he seems to have spent a year trying to argue the Nazis into invading and occupying Norway…”[2]
At the time Quisling took power there were approximately 2100 Jews in Norway. During Quisling’s tenure 722 Norwegian Jews were deported from Oslo to Germany and executed at the Auschwitz concentration camp.[3]
In September 2016, I first wrote about Donald Trump’s strange attraction to Vladimir Putin in a blog post entitled The Manchurian Candidate 2016, on my blog at JoeFahey.com. Putin’s preference for Trump in the 2016 presidential election was well documented by the Mueller investigation and in its final report. Trump has only been in office now less than two months and his fealty to Putin is manifest with what will be tragic consequences for Ukraine.
The United States and European allies have been steadfast in support of Ukraine’s three-year effort to repel Putin’s Russian invasion. The Biden administration committed billions of dollars to Ukraine’s defense. The vast majority of those monies have been returned to defense contractors in the United States who have supplied Ukraine with the armaments it has needed. As a result, Ukraine has battled Russia to a stalemate and occupied some Russian territory. All of those gains appear to be about to change.
On February 18, 2025, Trump publicly began his turn away from Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelensky and toward Putin by falsely claiming that Ukraine started the war with Russia and calling him a dictator with an approval rating of 4%. Trump ignored the fact that elections are suspended in Ukraine during wartime and that Zelenskyi has a 52% approval rating, higher than Trump’s own approval rating.[4]
On February 24, 2025, the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, the United States voted with Russia, North Korea and fifteen other Russian allied countries against the Ukrainian resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the same time Trump has proposed an agreement with Ukraine in which that country would sign over the rights to 50% of its mineral wealth to repay money that the United States has spent on Ukraine’s defense.[5] This was never a condition of our assistance. No other nation demanded repayment for military assistance it provided to us after the September 11, attack on our nation.
While President Zelenskyi was open to the mineral rights agreement, he wanted the United States in turn to provide security agreements to Ukraine to guard against another Russian invasion. Trump flatly rejected any security guarantees to Ukraine.[6]
On February 28, 2025, President Zelensky met with Trump and J.D. Vance in the Oval Office, ostensibly, to sign a mineral rights agreement. Instead of completing the agreement Trump and Vance hectored the Ukrainian President with claims that he was ungrateful for all of the support the United States had provided to Ukraine throughout the Russian invasion. Zelensky left the White House without the agreement being consummated.[7] The Kremlin applauded Trump and Vance’s attack on Zelensky declaring ”This largely aligns with our vision,” and that it was “a proper slap down of the insolent pig, Zelensky.”[8]
Trump has suspended all aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.[9]
Russia wasted no time taking advantage of the suspension and has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine. Trump, in turn expressed no concern for the Ukrainians and defended Putin’s massive assault on the country, declaring;
“I actually think he’s doing what anybody else would do. Probably anybody in that position would be doing that right now. He wants to get it ended. And I think Ukraine wants to get it ended, but I don’t see. It’s crazy. They’re taking tremendous punishment. I don’t quite get it.”[10]
It is not hard to understand why Zelensky would not enter into a mineral rights agreement in which his country would give up 50% of its rights and receive nothing in return. When Neville Chamberlain appeased Hitler in Munich on September 30, 1938, ceding the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to the Nazis, he did not try to rape the country by taking its resources or treasure.
At this writing, it is hard to predict what the ultimate outcome of the Russian invasion will be for Ukraine, but the country’s prospects appear bleak. It is also hard to predict what consequences Trump will suffer from this appalling betrayal.
In 1945, when Norway was liberated, Quisling was tried by the Norwegians and executed.
[1] Vidkun Quisling, Britannica.com
[2] Shirer, William L. End of a Berlin Diary, Rosetta books (1947) p.256.
[3] Vidkun Quisling, Holocaust Encyclopedia, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
[4]“Trump’s Dark Anti-Ukraine Turn”, by Aaron Blake, Washington Post, February 19, 2025
[5] “US Votes Against UN Resolution Condemning Russia for Ukraine War,” by Karen DeYoung, John Hudson and Siobahn O’Grady, Washington Post, February 24, 2025
[6] “Trump Says Ukraine Should Look to Europe for Any Security Guarantees,” by David Sanger, New York Times, February 26, 2025
[7] “Behind the Collision: Trump Jettisons Ukraine on his Way to a Larger Goal,” by David Sanger, New York Times, February 28, 2025
[8] “Washington Now ‘Largely Aligns’ with Moscow’s Vision, Kremlin Says,” by Francesca Ebel, New York Times, March 2, 2025.
[9] “Trump Suspends Military Aid to Ukraine after Oval Office Blowup,” by Erica L Green, Eric Schmitt, David E Sanger and Julian E Barnes, New York Times, March 3, 2025.
[10] “Trump says latest Russian attack on Ukraine’what anybody else would do,’” by Michael Birnbaum, Sabrina Rodriguez and Kostiantyn Khudov, Washington Post, March 7, 2025.