In the 1962 film The Manchurian Candidate, Angela Lansbury is a soviet agent tasked with getting reactionary blowhard Senator John Yerkes Iselin elected as president of the United States so that Moscow will have a useful idiot running the country. This was considered such a horrific idea back then that the plan was foiled in a commendably patriotic manner for the audiences of the time.

Trump probably hasn’t been put in the White House by a successful Russian plot, but it would be hard to see what he’d be doing differently if he were. His attempt to turn Ukraine into an American colony with his minerals deal combined with his enthusiasm for handing over much of the country’s land to Russia so that it can be transformed from a functional parliamentary democracy into a larger version of Belorussia suits Putin perfectly.

There is a logic to what Trump is doing once you strip away the theatrics. His billionaires will restructure American society in their own interests, imposing real hardship on the working class. The US military was repeatedly humiliated in Afghanistan and Iraq and Trump is retrenching the country’s sphere of influence and is leaving European imperialism to deal with Russian imperialism.

This will be accompanied with some Russian style internal policing. The incoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, has said (according to Trump): “I love you sir. I think you’re great sir. I’ll kill for you sir.” Dan Bongino, the new deputy head of the FBI, has said. “We have a system of checks and balances? Haha! That’s a good one.” These men are true believers in the Fuhrer principle.

So, we are now in a funny position where what we can call the “Putin indulgent left”, the ones who said the Russian invasion was all the Ukrainians’ fault for wanting something that resembled a European parliamentary democracy and they should have surrendered straight away are now singing the same song as Trump, Putin and Kim Jong-Il. I think it is fairer to refer to them as “Putin indulgent” since they mostly have the good sense not to go the full Galloway and actively support Putin.

Two sets of double standards

For almost a year and a half now we have been watching two sets of double standards being applied to Ukraine and Gaza. Russian atrocities are denounced and Ukrainian refugees have been welcomed by European states. The same states are silent in the face of genocide, arm the Israelis, refuse sanctuary to Gazans and dehumanise them in virtually every press report.

The Putin indulgent left has its own version of this. It is silent on the strategic stupidity of Hamas’ attack and hasn’t a word to say on its ideology, while at the same time never missing an opportunity to counsel the Ukrainians to surrender. What is never pointed out is that a defeat for the Russian invasion would be a huge victory for the Russian working class. It would almost certainly mean the end of Putin’s dictatorship and would put an end to the slaughter of young Russians, Koreans and Ukrainians. It would also represent a major setback for Trumpism.

Now what is required is an internationalist left which can simultaneously oppose the ongoing Israeli and US genocide in Gaza while also supporting the Ukrainian working class which is sacrificing so much in its struggle against Russian imperialism. It is for them to determine for how much longer and with what means they will choose to resist and for us to offer political and material support as they face down American and Russian imperialism.

Small things you can do are to sign this petition opposing Trump’s visit or perhaps join this demonstration at the US embassy in London on Wednesday evening.