Pedro Martinez On Trump's Aid For Ukraine?

The title of this article is a bit deceiving because I have no evidence for even hinting that MLB Baseball great Pedro Martinez has voiced an opinion on Trump's aid for Ukraine. But there is something that Martinez said about the dark side of MLB Baseball in the Netflix documentary, The Comeback. That dark side, according to Martinez, is the business side because it knows no loyalty or friendship.

And so when we come to Trump's aid package for Ukraine, note that Trump described it like a business transaction. The US will provide weapons for Ukraine's defense only those weapons are being sold. And they are; they are being bought by European nations that are committed to Ukraine's defense. Here, it seems, that Trump appears to be more focused on the US is making a profit than on helping a nation under siege. Would Trump have offered an aid package for Ukraine if there were no European nations willing to foot the bill? We cannot say for sure, but as things stand, Trump is showing no loyalty to Ukraine with his aid package.

And with Russia's war against Ukraine where it seems civilians are major targets, we need to ask this question: What does Trump owe Putin? For he has always expressed admiration for Putin and there is no doubt that he was elected with Putin's help. And he has been very slow to put new sanctions on Putin while quick to put tariffs on our, perhaps now former, allies. It could be that either Trump owes him a lot or, surprise, Trump will be reneging on a debt. If Ukraine meant more to Trump than just an avenue for revenue, he would show a certain degree of loyalty to Ukraine despite the costs. But if Trump's actions regarding the Russian-Ukraine war also show that he owes Putin a significant debt, then whatever sanctions he employs or actions he takes on Russia will be for PR reasons only. That makes Trump's positions and actions very interesting at this time.

Though this blog is adamantly opposed to almost all of Trump's actions as President, he should be given credit for the following. He said that Ukraine cannot be a part of NATO. Why? The first answer should be history. Russia's history with its western neighbors is horrific. And so we must respect Russia's sensitivity here. The second answer is that any move that the West made/makes westward after George W. Bush's agreement with Gorbachev violates at least the spirit of the agreement that they made regarding the reunification of Germany. So to be fair, if a peace agreement can be made prior to Russia conquering it, then Ukraine must not become another member of NATO.

I think that we would do well to interpret Trump's Presidency as being similar to how  a heavy-handed CEO runs a large corporation. This might explain Trump's criticisms of Biden. Trump compared how Biden was running the nation with how he, Trump, wants to run his businesses. First, many parts of the business that were  not contributing making a profit, such as many foreign aid and domestic social safety nets, were axed. Also axed were dissidents in government  and scientists whose findings he could neither refute nor control. We should note that corporations tend to foster authoritarian environments with some being more authoritarian than others. The more authoritarian the environment, the less tolerance is shown to those in leadership positions who disagree.

And if we continue along this line, then realize that Trump expects certain kinds of relationships with other nations (a.k.a., 'the competition') in Trump's eyes, that he wants his own businesses to have with other businesses. It isn't enough for the US to be coexisting with other nations in the world. He wants his business to be on top, which means that he wants America to dominate and even control other nations. When, under Biden, America was not dominating others and was giving away too many freebees, Trump saw America as failing. And let's be honest about Biden, he did fail in a lot of areas other than the ways that Trump views failure. 

So, in other words, Trump has taken a reductionistic approach to our nation. He runs it like a business with his own authoritarian way.

Now if we return to what Martinez said about the dark side of baseball, don't we see that playing out in Trump's Presidency? That for Trump, there is little room for loyalty to those subordinates who now disagree with at least some of what he says and does.  In contrast, loyalty is a trait that is best measured by how one reacts despite the negative consequences that come with remaining steadfast. His berating and even silencing of those people show his lack of loyalty and friendship while displaying his authoritarianism.

And so now, both our nation and Putin should be a bit leery of Trump. For if the business side of Trump's personality infringes on being loyal, then our nation must ask what would Trump's asking price be for betraying our nation. Some would say that he has already been doing that by how he has used his Presidency to increase his personal wealth. 

But Trump's lack of loyalty should also put Putin on notice. Suppose Trump turns on Putin for personal gain? Suppose Trump betrays Putin and reneges on paying his debt to him? That betrayal is not one that I expect to happen nor is it one to be taken lightly. But should that happen, the conflict that could arise from that betrayal would be ominous for the whole world.

Again, what Martinez said about the business side of baseball should very much concern us because of how Trump seems to rule as our President. For right now, we have a President who is behaving like a CEO. But what would happen if we have a CEO would be King?