Others are less sure. For many foreign policy observers, Trump’s victory — together with his lukewarm attitude toward NATO, criticism of the amount of US aid being sent to Ukraine and vows to reach a deal to end the ongoing war in Eastern Europe — has stoked uncertainty over Washington’s commitment to doing everything it can to support Ukraine repel Russian invaders.
As a scholar on Eastern Europe, I understand where these concerns come from. But I also offer a counter view: that a Trump White House may not necessarily be bad news for Kyiv.
It is common to hear Trump described as isolationist, nationalistic and an anti-interventionist on the world stage. He has encouraged such a view through claims, for example, that the US would shirk its responsibility to come to the defence of a NATO member against a Russian attack if that country was not meeting its defence spending targets in line with the alliance’s commitments.