8 December 2025, 09:02
The Grinch stole Christmas from those who were celebrating it. Trump is stealing peace from those who earned it—to sell it to those who destroyed it. The difference is crucial: at least the Grinch stole his own stuff.
Trump is trading goods he doesn’t own. He didn’t fight for this peace. Didn’t pay for it with his soldiers’ lives. He simply discovered he could resell Ukraine’s victory to Putin at a hefty markup. Classic middleman scheme: buy cheap from the producer, sell expensive to the end client. The producer is Ukraine, manufacturing peace with its blood for three years. The end client is Putin, who wants to buy what he couldn’t conquer.
Initially, Trump planned to sell peace to Ukraine. “48 hours” — remember? But then the calculator whispered: Putin will pay more. Putin doesn’t just need the war to end, he needs legitimization of occupation, sanctions off, recognition of “new realities.” For that, you can throw in Musk’s telecom, play around with commercial contracts, finally finish Trump Tower Moscow. What can Ukraine offer? Gratitude? Rebuilding contracts? Future NATO membership that Trump couldn’t care less about?
Business is business. Margin is margin.
Unlike the Grinch, whose heart eventually melted, Trump’s heart has been replaced by a calculator. And a calculator doesn’t know what Christmas is. It only knows spreadsheets. And in this spreadsheet, Ukrainian lives are just a line item in the expense column, not an asset worth protecting.
The Grinch returned Christmas because he understood its value. Trump won’t return peace because he only understands its price. And the price is set by whoever pays the most. Right now, that’s Putin.
Merry pre-holiday deal-making, America. You didn’t elect a president. You elected a sales agent. Now watch him trade your reputation at the global bazaar.
Oleh Cheslavskyi — independent historian and analyst specializing in deconstructing imperial narratives.
Originally published at spilno.org