Russia deal, execution plans and deportations tell a defining tale about Trump and power

Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Donald Trump is trying to make America more like him.

But voters will soon get to deliver a verdict on the president’s efforts to redefine how the government he leads wields power at home and abroad.

Three flashpoints illustrate how his coercive and transactional instincts are changing the character of the country and how the rest of the world sees us.

Ever since World War II, America has nurtured democracy. But by allowing Russia to supply markets with diesel , Trump will reward a ruthless authoritarian, President Vladimir Putin, who is killing scores of Ukrainian civilians as he aims to crush their independence.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plan to livestream the death by firing squad of the Fort Hood mass shooter meanwhile risks putting the United States in the category of Iran, the Taliban and Hamas in carrying out public executions.

And the shooting by federal agents in New York last week of a citizen of the Dominican Republic while a 5-year-old was in the car was the government’s latest flex of violent force in public in an intensifying deportation crackdown.

Each event sparked a political backlash, and each raises questions about the unconstrained use of presidential authority and how eroded legal and behavioral standards will ultimately sit with the national conscience.

But each also directly flows from the personality of a president who made no secret of his intentions when he was twice chosen by voters in democratic elections and who represents the views of tens of millions of citizens.

The midterm elections are being dominated by high prices for food and housing, a backlash against AI data centers , and public fury over the Iran war.

But the election also marks 10 years since Trump first won power, and it will serve indirectly as an accounting of his attempts to define 21st century national greatness through a prism of his truculent and idiosyncratic values.

Growing concerns about the Russia diesel deal , a potentially livestreamed execution and Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity may hint at Trump’s eroded political clout nearly halfway through his second term.

And the shift of the electoral calendar to a presidential cycle in a few weeks will begin a debate on whether Trump’s redefinition of American exceptionalism is an aberration or whether it will linger in his image when he’s left office.

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Trump’s deal with Putin to send diesel onto international markets is a blunt demonstration of “America First” in action and the US president’s tendency to use foreign policy to promote his political goals.

The move shatters the international sanctions regime that battered Russia’s economy after the invasion of Ukraine; delivers a huge propaganda victory to Putin; and reflects the US president’s pattern of accommodating the Kremlin strongman.

It deals a new blow to the morale of Ukrainian civilians, who are under escalating Russian attacks, including at least 33 who died when two public buses were targeted .

It opens a huge rift with NATO allies at a moment when Moscow is accused of a campaign of sabotage, harassment and airspace violations in Europe. The Dutch defense minister last week branded Russia “our enemy.”

And Trump’s demand Saturday for Ukraine to replace President Volodymyr Zelensky — a key Moscow condition — will renew fears that he’s siding with Kremlin war aims. Those fears were also recently exacerbated by Trump’s failure to license Kyiv to produce Patriot missiles .

But there is a logical explanation for Trump’s decision.

He’s in a political and economic bind because the cost of diesel has hit record levels, hammering US agriculture and raising food prices. Most of this is because of his war in Iran, and it is unclear whether the deal will lower prices quickly. But he had a burning domestic political imperative to do more, whatever the expense.

“It’s another example of our president thinking out of the box,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer told ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday. Emmer added: “Our president is trying to find every answer possible to help the American people.”

But former Vice President Mike Pence balked at easing the economic vise on Russia. “America should not be throwing a lifeline to Putin’s war machine. Now is the time to stand strong against Russian aggression as we did during the first Trump administration,” Pence wrote in a post on X.

Trump rejects the kind of hawkish, traditional Republicanism that Pence represents. The president has a narrower definition of national and personal interest: On the same day he delivered a huge win for Putin, an accused war criminal, and again warned he may destroy Iran, Trump slammed his latest Nobel Peace Prize snub as “an embarrassment” and “disgraceful.”

Nidal Hasan is a US Army major convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder for targeting soldiers headed to Afghanistan. The question is not whether his victims deserve justice following a judicial process. It’s whether staging a public execution would infringe constitutional protections; whether it is consistent with America’s modern values; and if it would hand Hasan the martyrdom he sought.

Hegseth explained last week that the execution would be public because “people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.” The defense secretary favors the performative use of force and is contemptuous toward those who fear it violates American principles. He has, for example, defended US strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific that have killed at least 221 people and that critics call unconstitutional extrajudicial assassinations.

A backlash could still scupper the livestream execution plan. Trump said over the weekend that he will decide whether it will happen.

But opponents worry that going ahead will stain America’s moral reputation and reward extremist groups with a propaganda triumph.

“What is he mimicking, ISIS executions?” Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Thursday. “I understand that in this country we have the death penalty, but public executions is medieval.”

Some Republicans are also concerned. “I absolutely support the sentence of death, but livestreaming executions is what jihadists do. America is better than that,” said Georgia Rep. Austin Scott. And Utah Sen. John Curtis warned on X , “A civilization erodes when it cultivates an appetite for executions as a form of entertainment.”

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

The public use of military-style force in law enforcement and a narrative of governmental toughness also underpins the deportation crackdown. It has come with grave consequences, including the deaths of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota.

In the latest controversy, Oscar Belgal, 28, from the Dominican Republic, suffered a superficial wound to the neck when he was shot by immigration agents in the Bronx last week. His child was not physically injured. Federal authorities said officers believed that their lives were in danger. The injured man had previously pleaded guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny and received five years of probation, according to court records.

Critics see such confrontations as unacceptable examples of untamed federal government power. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the officers involved were not wearing uniforms and that ICE agents are “making the city terrified.”

But Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” on Sunday that Belgal was to blame. “The truth is this guy was an awful human being. He was a thug. He was a gangbanger,” Mullin said. He placed the blame on Belgal for putting his child at risk: “The last thing I would have done is put my son or one of my kids in danger.”

Mullin’s comments are consistent with the views of many Americans who favor stronger immigration enforcement and who responded to Trump’s searing promises to launch law and order crackdowns in his campaigns.

Yet while a majority wanted more action on the border after the Biden administration’s neglect, there are signs the aggressive tactics are a political liability. In a Pew Research poll in May, 52% said the administration was doing “too much” on deportations. Still, only 19% of Republicans thought so, underscoring that confrontations might please GOP midterm base voters.

Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

American history is scarred by violence and stifled justice: lynchings; the crushing of civil rights protests; internments in wartime; and foreign wars that killed thousands of innocent civilians. So Trump’s muscularity is far from the first time that government power has challenged traditional perceptions of US values.

Yet few modern presidents have been as willing to test American ideas about limited government power, the restrained use of force, international alliances and American global leadership.

Ultimately, citizens must decide at the ballot box if this is what they want.

朱莉娅·德马雷·尼金森/美联社

唐纳德·特朗普正试图让美国变得更像他。

但选民很快就能对总统重新定义他领导的政府在国内和国际上行使权力的方式的努力做出评判。

三个爆发点表明，他的胁迫和交易本能正在改变国家的性质以及世界其他国家看待我们的方式。

自二战以来，美国一直致力于扶持民主。但特朗普允许俄罗斯向市场供应柴油，无异于奖励一位冷酷无情的独裁者——弗拉基米尔·普京总统。普京正在杀害数十名乌克兰平民，企图摧毁乌克兰的独立。

与此同时，国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯计划直播对胡德堡大规模枪击案凶手的枪决，这可能会使美国与伊朗、塔利班和哈马斯一样，进行公开处决。

上周，联邦特工在纽约枪杀了一名多米尼加共和国公民，当时车里还有一名 5 岁儿童。这是政府在不断加强的驱逐出境行动中，最新一次公开炫耀暴力武力的事件。

每起事件都引发了政治反弹，每起事件都引发了人们对总统权力不受约束的使用以及被侵蚀的法律和行为标准最终将如何被国民良知所接受的质疑。

但这些也直接源于一位总统的个性，这位总统在两次民主选举中被选民选出时，毫不掩饰自己的意图，并且代表了数千万公民的意见。

中期选举主要受食品和住房价格高企、民众对人工智能数据中心的强烈反对以及公众对伊朗战争的愤怒情绪所主导。

但此次选举也标志着特朗普首次掌权 10 周年，它将间接地反映出他如何试图通过其好斗和特立独行的价值观来定义 21 世纪的国家伟大。

人们越来越担心俄罗斯柴油交易、可能进行直播的死刑执行以及移民和海关执法局的活动，这可能暗示着特朗普在其第二个任期过半之际，其政治影响力已经削弱。

几周后，选举日程将转变为总统选举周期，这将引发一场辩论，即特朗普对美国例外论的重新定义究竟是一种反常现象，还是在他卸任后仍会在他的形象中留下印记。

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特朗普与普京达成协议，向国际市场输送柴油，这赤裸裸地体现了“美国优先”的政策，也暴露了美国总统利用外交政策推进其政治目标的倾向。

此举打破了入侵乌克兰后重创俄罗斯经济的国际制裁机制；为普京带来了一场巨大的宣传胜利；并反映了美国总统一贯迎合克里姆林宫强人的作风。

这给乌克兰平民的士气带来了新的打击，他们正遭受俄罗斯不断升级的袭击，其中包括两辆公共汽车遭到袭击，造成至少 33 人死亡。

在莫斯科被指控在欧洲进行破坏、骚扰和侵犯领空活动之际，此举无疑加剧了俄罗斯与北约盟国之间的巨大裂痕。荷兰国防部长上周称俄罗斯为“我们的敌人”。

特朗普周六要求乌克兰更换总统泽连斯基——这是莫斯科提出的一个关键条件——这将再次引发人们的担忧，即他是否站在了克里姆林宫的战争目标一边。此前，特朗普拒绝向基辅颁发生产“爱国者”导弹的许可证，也加剧了这种担忧。

但特朗普的决定是有合乎逻辑的解释的。

他陷入了政治和经济的困境，因为柴油价格已飙升至历史新高，重创美国农业并推高了食品价格。这主要是由于他发动的伊朗战争，而且目前尚不清楚该协议能否迅速降低油价。但他迫切需要在国内采取更多行动，无论付出多大的代价。

“这再次体现了我们总统的创新思维，”众议院多数党党鞭汤姆·埃默周日告诉美国广播公司新闻节目“本周”栏目。埃默补充说：“我们的总统正在尽一切可能寻找帮助美国人民的办法。”

但前副总统迈克·彭斯反对放松对俄罗斯的经济制裁。“美国不应该向普京的战争机器伸出援手。现在是时候像特朗普第一任期那样，坚决抵制俄罗斯的侵略了。”彭斯在X网站上发帖写道。

特朗普拒绝接受彭斯所代表的那种鹰派传统共和党理念。总统对国家利益和个人利益的定义更为狭隘：就在他为被指控为战争罪犯的普京带来巨大胜利，并再次警告他可能摧毁伊朗的同一天，特朗普抨击普京最近一次被诺贝尔和平奖冷落是“令人尴尬”和“可耻的”。

尼达尔·哈桑是美国陆军少校，因预谋杀害即将前往阿富汗的士兵而被判犯有13项谋杀罪。问题不在于他的受害者是否应该通过司法程序得到公正对待，而在于公开处决是否会侵犯宪法保护；是否符合美国的现代价值观；以及是否能使哈桑如愿以偿地获得他所追求的殉道地位。

赫格塞斯上周解释说，之所以公开处决，是因为“人们需要明白，这类事情会带来严重的后果”。这位国防部长赞成以表演性的方式使用武力，并对那些担心武力使用违反美国原则的人嗤之以鼻。例如，他曾为美国在加勒比海和太平洋对涉嫌贩毒船只的袭击辩护，这些袭击造成至少221人死亡，批评人士称这些袭击是违宪的法外处决。

舆论反弹仍有可能使直播计划泡汤。特朗普周末表示，他将决定是否进行直播。

但反对者担心，继续推进这项计划会玷污美国的道德声誉，并让极端主义团体获得宣传上的胜利。

“他是在模仿ISIS的处决方式吗？”康涅狄格州参议员克里斯·墨菲周四对CNN的艾琳·伯内特说。“我知道我们国家有死刑，但公开处决是中世纪的做法。”

一些共和党人也对此表示担忧。“我绝对支持死刑判决，但直播处决是圣战分子才会做的事。美国不应该这样，”佐治亚州众议员奥斯汀·斯科特说道。犹他州参议员约翰·柯蒂斯在X网站上警告说：“当一个文明将处决作为一种娱乐形式时，它就会走向衰落。”

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

执法部门公开使用军事化武力，以及政府强硬的论调，也是此次驱逐出境行动的根本原因。这造成了严重的后果，包括在明尼苏达州发生的抗议者蕾妮·古德和亚历克斯·普雷蒂的死亡事件。

在最近这起争议事件中，来自多米尼加共和国的28岁男子奥斯卡·贝尔加尔上周在布朗克斯区被移民执法人员开枪击中颈部，仅受轻伤。他的孩子没有受伤。联邦当局称，执法人员当时认为他们的生命受到威胁。据法庭记录显示，受伤男子此前已承认犯有四级重大盗窃罪，并被判处五年缓刑。

批评人士认为，此类冲突是联邦政府权力不受约束的不可接受的例证。纽约市长佐兰·马姆达尼表示，涉事警员当时并未身穿制服，而且美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）的特工“让这座城市陷入恐慌”。

但国土安全部长马克韦恩·穆林周日在CNN的“国情咨文”节目中告诉主持人杰克·塔珀，贝尔加尔才是罪魁祸首。“事实是，这家伙是个十足的恶棍。他是个暴徒，是个帮派分子，”穆林说道。他指责贝尔加尔让自己的孩子身处险境：“我绝不会让我的儿子或任何一个孩子身处险境。”

穆林的言论与许多支持加强移民执法的美国人的观点一致，这些人响应了特朗普在竞选期间提出的严厉打击法律和秩序的承诺。

尽管大多数民众希望在拜登政府忽视边境问题后，政府采取更多行动，但种种迹象表明，强硬策略反而会成为政治包袱。皮尤研究中心5月份的一项民调显示，52%的受访者认为政府在遣返方面“做得太过火”。然而，只有19%的共和党人持相同观点，这表明对抗或许能取悦共和党在中期选举中的基本盘选民。

爱德华多·穆尼奥斯/路透社

美国历史充斥着暴力和司法不公：私刑；镇压民权运动；战时拘禁；以及造成数千无辜平民丧生的对外战争。因此，特朗普的强硬姿态远非政府权力首次挑战美国传统价值观。

然而，很少有现代总统像他那样愿意检验美国关于限制政府权力、克制使用武力、国际联盟和美国全球领导地位的理念。

最终，公民们必须通过投票来决定这是否是他们想要的。