Summary
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth struggled to answer what Russia would concede in Ukraine peace talks, instead defending the Trump administration’s negotiations.
His comments at NATO suggested Ukraine would have to give up NATO membership and lost territory, sparking backlash. Critics, including John Bolton, argued the deal was Kremlin propaganda.
Hegseth later attempted to walk back his remarks, but experts said he had already ceded too much to Russia.
Trump’s denial of ordering a retraction failed to quell concerns over Hegseth’s inexperience and the administration’s approach.
This needs some work to reconcile with how Trump appears to act towards the pretty poor Russia vs the wealthy EU, though.
Likely he’s just personally uncomfortable with powerful allies, and would rather have weak & subservient underlings. That this would leave the US worse off seems to be a sacrifice he’s willing to have the Americans make.