'Impotent' Trump in a bind as his dealmaking 'underscores his unfitness': analysis

New Republic columnist Greg Sargent spoke with Bulwark writer Cathy Young on the ‘Daily Blast’ podcast about how President Donald Trump may ultimately handle the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine based upon his own self-perception of weakness.

Trump recently revealed his mounting frustration with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in a series of Truth Social posts and public statements. Trump lashed out at Putin for ramping up drone attacks on civilian territory in defiance of Trump’s stated goal for peace. Trump called Putin “crazy,” and admitted he has no idea what Putin is thinking. The Kremlin recently responded by calling the U.S. president 'emotional.'

Sargent said part of Trump’s frustration with the Russian leader is that he can’t conceive of anybody acting independently of Trump’s own needs.

READ MORE: Trump gives up the game and tells half of America what he really thinks about them

“What strikes us about all this is that Trump only seems capable of understanding Putin’s continuing warmaking as an affront to him personally, which really underscores his unfitness for this moment,” said Sargent. “He seems to be incapable of grasping that Putin has a set of goals and a worldview independent of Trump. … Trump is not capable of asking ‘how does Vladimir see the world.’”

Young said she believed Trump is either “entirely indifferent to the state of Ukraine or actively rooting for Russia,” but she was confident Trump could not openly hand the nation over to its larger invading neighbor without personally looking “weak.”

“It would seem, given one of Trump’s chief concerns is to project an image of his own strength and not be seen as impotent, you’d think he would get onboard with tough sanctions, as some Republicans are proposing,” Young said. “… He understands he can’t afford to … tell Russia to go ahead and take what you want, because that’s really not going to make him look great.So, I think he’s in a bind, and part of the reason he’s raging is because he’s flailing trying to decide which course of action will make him look weak—because that’s his preoccupation.”

She added that much of what Trump decides to do appears to be dictated by who’s influencing him at that moment.

READ MORE: 'It's happening to me again!' South African president mocks Trump to laughing audience

“Trump is really susceptible to the last person he speaks to,” she said, adding jokingly that this is probably why Zelensky should “learn how to play golf and spend a lot of time at Mar-a-Lago.”

Someone may ultimately talk Trump into imposing new Russian sanctions, she said, but she feared the war would drone on with no significant movement on either side without dramatic intervention of some sort. The Ukrainian people are more emboldened than ever as Putin bombs schools, playgrounds and bomb shelters, while Putin has “caught a tiger’s tail” and can’t surrender the invasion without creating a bunch of jaded ex-soldiers demanding, ‘what was it all for?’”

Hear the full Daily Blast podcast here.