Ben Shapiro says Trump's pause of military aid to Ukraine “is not a particularly good move”
“If Russia reads a pause in military aid to Ukraine as new impetus to relaunch a mass offensive, that will lengthen the war. It will not shorten the war. It will lengthen the war.”
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From the March 4, 2025, edition of The Daily Wire's The Ben Shapiro Show
BEN SHAPIRO (HOST): Now why do Americans feel that way? Because what Americans want is the rational thing. They know the war isn't going anywhere. They want an off ramp. Now, Americans want an off ramp. Americans like foreign policy off ramps. There's one thing Americans really like a lot worse than foreign policy off ramps, and it's not even endless war. Americans don't like endless war. In order of things, Americans hate. They hate endless war, and then even more than endless war, they hate ignominious surrender. They really don't like an ignominious surrender. Americans were humiliated by Joe Biden's pullout from Afghanistan. They hated Joe Biden for it. Look at his approval ratings. They sank into the mire. What does that mean? It means that while Americans do not want to continue to fund the Ukrainian war indefinitely, they also do not wanna see pictures of Russian soldiers strolling through Kyiv. That is not something they want. They do not want Vladimir Putin standing on Volodymyr Zelensky's body in the middle of the street. That's not something they want.
Which is why the Trump administration move — I think it's a pressure tactic to get Zelensky to come back to the table and sign the rare earth minerals deal. So I think Zelensky really should do it. But the administration announced yesterday that they would pause all military aid to Kyiv until President Trump determines that the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is making a good faith effort toward peace negotiations with Russia. Now this, I do think, is not a particularly good move. And the reason I'm not sure that this is a particularly good move is because if you're Vladimir Putin, what would drive you to the table? There's — it takes you two tango here. What moves has Putin affirmatively made toward a deal? Now, again, I can say all day long that I think I know what a deal looks like. It looks like Europeans give a security guarantee to the Ukrainians. The Ukrainians feel some level of security. They're not gonna be invaded by Russia again, and Donbas and Crimea go to Russia. Right? That's been the deal since 2022. But is Russia willing to accept that deal, or do they believe that The United States is gonna pull out and that the Europeans will pull out and that Vladimir Putin will eventually stroll through Kyiv? So if this is a short term tactic, a pause, which it seems to be, fine. If it's a pause that's designed to get Zelensky back to the table, sign the rare earth mineral deal, we all move forward hand-in-hand, great. But how Russia reads it is gonna make quite a large difference here. If Russia reads a pause in military aid to Ukraine as new impetus to relaunch a mass offensive, that will lengthen the war. It will not shorten the war. It will lengthen the war.