Trump’s “Letter” and the Continuation of Moral Inversion
- john raymond
- Sep 13
- 3 min read
President Trump’s Truth Social “letter” to NATO leaders over sanctions and tariffs is not policy—it is sabotage disguised as leadership.
By demanding that Europe adopt tariff schemes and energy cutoffs that weaken its own position while strengthening Putin, Trump continues the same project of moral inversion we saw in the Alaska summit: shifting responsibility for Russia’s war from Moscow onto Ukraine and NATO.
This “letter” is proof that the U.S. executive is functioning as a traitor-general within the alliance.
Tariffs as Self-Sabotage
Trump’s demand for “50% to 100% tariffs on China” to be maintained until the end of the war has nothing to do with weakening Russia. It is an attempt to force China and India into deeper deals with Moscow.
We already saw this dynamic in the May 9 gambit: Trump escalated a tariff war with Beijing, only to ease it once Xi publicly aligned with Putin. Similarly, his misapplied tariffs on unrelated Indian goods alienated New Delhi and nudged it closer to Moscow—a move that directly benefitted Putin.
Now, Trump is demanding that Europe sabotage itself in the same way. He is presenting allies with a no-win choice: either self-harm with tariffs that strengthen Russia’s partnerships, or be denied American sanctions, even moral backing.
This is not a strategy for victory; it is coercion designed to fracture NATO from within.
Energy and the False Blame Game
Trump’s second demand—that NATO members stop buying Russian oil—also collapses under scrutiny. European purchases have already been capped at prices designed to deprive Moscow of net gains, ensuring only minimal revenue flows to keep the pipelines open.
The real problem lies not with Europe’s mainstream democracies, but with NATO’s autocratic weak links—Hungary under Orbán, Turkey under Erdoğan, Slovakia under Fico—who maintain ties and major energy deals with Russia.
Trump’s letter deliberately ignores this distinction. Instead of calling out his authoritarian fellow travelers, he smears the entire alliance as complicit, shifting blame from Putin’s war machine onto NATO itself.
This is classic bully logic: protect your secret allies while blaming the victims for being attacked. His recent public letter of support for Orbán on energy policy makes Trump’s posturing even more absurd.
The Moral Inversion Strategy
What we are seeing is the continuation of a long-term Russian project: invert moral responsibility. The aggressor (Russia) becomes invisible, while the victims (Ukraine, NATO) are painted as the cause of the war.
Trump repeats this inversion explicitly, calling it “Biden’s and Zelenskyy’s war.” Just as in Alaska, the inversion is not episodic—it is the persistent drumbeat of Putin’s propaganda, laundered through Trump’s platform.
This is not sloppy thinking. It is a coordinated tactic: to disorient publics, fracture alliances, and recast Russia’s war of aggression as someone else’s fault.
Trump’s letter demonstrates that he has not finished playing his role in this inversion; he is only deepening it.
A Traitor-General’s Missive
Be clear. Trump’s letter is not a plan to win the war. It is a warning to Europe: unless you sabotage yourselves with tariffs and energy boycotts designed to fail, you will not receive U.S. support.
The actual aggressor, Putin, goes unmentioned. The real offenders—Orbán, Erdoğan, Fico—go unnamed. The victims—Ukraine and NATO—are blamed. This is the precise inversion I have long forecasted.
Most recently, Eastern Sentry exists to harden NATO against such betrayal. Trump’s letter proves why it is needed: the United States, under his leadership, is not an anchor of the alliance but its most dangerous internal fault line.
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