President Trump: Killing President Reagan's Legacy

Back in 2016, I made the decision to run against Lisa Murkowski and the reason was mainly over her position with ratifying START. 

This would be the last time I would be a registered Republican and it would be the last entry I made on this blog. 

For myself, I saw the GOP was moving away from what Reagan achieved with his foreign policy achievements and the GOP was heading towards a reset with the Kremlin. During the 2016 GOP convention that reset was put into the GOP platform. 

 The Original Draft vs. Final Language

When GOP platform committee member Diana Denman tried to insert language calling for the U.S. to provide "lethal defense weapons" to Ukraine -which was fighting a separatist insurrection backed by the Kremlin - Trump campaign representatives intervened and asked that her proposal be set aside for further review. 

In the end, the language was softened from "providing lethal defensive weapons" to a more vague phrase "appropriate assistance." 

A Controversy 

Another GOP delegate, Rachel Hoff, believed the final platform language signaled that a Trump administration would refuse to send lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine, putting Trump outside mainstream conservative foreign policy and national security opinion. 

The change was associated with Trump's then campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who had direct contacts with intelligence officials with the Kremlin. 

The Mueller Investigation Findings 

The Mueller report ultimately found no evidence that Trump ordered or was even aware of the platform language change. Trump himself said publicly " I wasn't involved in that. Honestly, I was not involved." 

First Term - 2019 (The Impeachment Incident) 

The Trump administration conducted a 55 day halt of hundred of millions of dollars in military assistance and weapons sales to Ukraine which was initially unpublicized. The Defense and State departments, along with an overwhelming majority in Congress, strongly supported assisting Ukraine, but the assistance was opposed by President Trump. This episode became the central issue in Trump's first impeachment. 

Second Term - Early 2025 (Post-Inauguration) 

The U.S. briefly stopped shipping weapons to Ukraine in the first days of Trump's second term as the new administration debated its policies toward Ukraine. Following an explosive meeting with President Zelenskyy, the Trump administration paused aid to Ukraine. 

Since Trump assumed office in January 2025, there has been no legislation or other authorization of significant new aid to Ukraine. While the U.S. has made no new aid commitments in 2025, European countries significantly increased their support and collectively have provided more aid than the Trump administration has since the start of the war. 

So in essence, the 2016 platform change from "lethal defensive weapons" to "appropriate assistance" is the template that Trump has followed. Which raises the question of what Trump knew going into the GOP convention and the change in the platform with regard to Ukraine. And the question has to be asked, how thorough was Mueller's investigation into Trump possibly being involved in the GOP platform change.

Moreover, two big players in the funding Ukraine debate are Elon Musk and Howard Lutnick. Under Trump's second term, Musk and DOGE agreed to audit U.S. funds sent to Ukraine, amplifying unsubstantiated money laundering claims. DOGE also defunded Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab, which was tracking nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. 

Howard Lutnick stated flatly on Fox News that the U.S. would not provide funding to Ukraine until Zelenskyy presented a peace proposal. In short, Lutnick has been one of the more vocal administration voices framing Ukraine aid as something Ukraine must earn through concessions. 

The Numbers Tell a Stark Story 

Of the richest Americans, 80% of their political spending went to Republicans in 2024. The pattern has been set and is explicit - billionaire investment banker Howard Lutnick was made Commerce Secretary after contributing over $21 million to Republican campaigns. 

Elon Musk spent roughly $290 million backing Trump and then was appointed to head DOGE. The irony is both had ties with Jeffery Epstein. 

Let Europe Handle It 

Trump has been using European burden-sharing as justification for pulling back on Ukraine - yet when Trump launched us into a full blown war with Iran, very few European officials were told in advance about the strikes by Trump. This has led European leaders to push back by saying this is not Europe's war. 

The Double Standard in Plain Sight 

Trump's position is essentially: Europe should fund Ukraine's defense and Europe should send warships to support the war in the Middle East. A war started by Trump. 

Given Trump's position of taking a soft stance with the Kremlin when it lifted sanctions while knowing that the Kremlin is feeding intelligence to Iran, you have to question his double standard when dealing with Ukraine and Russia. For myself, in 2016 I saw how the GOP would be transformed into what it is today. 

It has become the voice of Trump and not conservative values. It has become a station for oligarchs to control and wield power while enriching themselves knowing that Trump can pardon them.

For a Reagan Republicans like myself, I left because the so called MAGA movement has tried to destroy Reagan's foreign policy legacy. In the end, his legacy will prevail and contrary to Trump's comments made to Zelenskyy, Ukraine does hold the cards and the spirt of Reagan in their hearts.