'..Ukraine needs to fight smart and on the defensive. If Russia is willing to expend its human resources in such an extreme fashion, Ukraine must adjust to that. Ukraine should try and keep its casualties down while extracting as high a toll as possible on Russia.
If Russia is willing to throw its future away, Ukraine needs to let it.
War is horrible—but in this case there is no alternative.''First things first—don’t overreact to this being the end of US democracy. US democracy was under threat before this event—and this one moment wont make that threat any less rea[l]. Moreover, shooting presidents or presidential candidates has sadly been a regular part of US history for a century and a half. Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy were all killed by shooters, while Theodore Roosevelt and Reagan were shot but not killed. A number of presidential candidates have also been shot and either killed or seriously wounded, from Huey Long to George Wallace.
So this event is not unusual in US history, and indeed as the US gets more and more inundated with guns, its hardly a surprise that such a shooting is attempted. So there will be lots of dramatic pronouncements in the next days about what this means about the soul of America—that sort of thing. It means little has changed to be honest. This is a regular part of American life and American politics.
Now, what can it mean about the war in Ukraine? Of course the exact answer is we cant know. However, I might hazard a guess, as I think this attempt will lead Trump down a road he has been on for a while—to be more unadulterated Trump in a second term than the first.
..
In any new Trump administration, loyalty will be the key criteria for selection. Will you do what Trump wants—and will you bend all laws and rules to help him benefit. It will be Trump unchained as it were.
If anything this shooting will mean that he will be more willing to disregard restraint and just do anything he wants.
..
..Ukraine needs to fight smart and on the defensive. If Russia is willing to expend its human resources in such an extreme fashion, Ukraine must adjust to that. Ukraine should try and keep its casualties down while extracting as high a toll as possible on Russia.
If Russia is willing to throw its future away, Ukraine needs to let it.
War is horrible—but in this case there is no alternative.'
- Prof. Phillips P. O’Brien,
Weekend Update #89: Trump is Shot--Does it Mean Anything for the War? July 14, 2024
Context(Ukraine defeats Russia) - '..give it the aid that it needs to fight and win the war .. Ukraine can win the war.'