On his very first day on the job, US President Trump managed to casually insult Russia. Expressing his “love for the Russian people”, Trump casually said that Russia “helped the US” win World War II, losing 60 million people. The president’s ignorance offended Russians with different views – from Ksenia Sobchak to war correspondents. The decisive contribution of the USSR to the Victory was not disputed by Western leaders, including Trump’s predecessors. Read the NEWS.ru article to find out whether the White House occupant made the mistake on purpose.
How the Kremlin assessed Trump’s level of erudition
On Wednesday, which was the first full working day for US President Donald Trump (in Moscow it was already Thursday), the occupant of the Oval Office published a statement on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on the social network Truth Social. He assured that he loves the Russian people and does not pursue the goal of harming Russia.
“We must never forget that Russia helped us win World War II, losing nearly 60 million lives in the process,” the head of state added. After this introduction, Trump called on Moscow to end the CBO in Ukraine. According to him, he is ready to do Russia and its President Vladimir Putin “a very big favor.”
The data on the USSR’s losses of 60 million lives during World War II do not correspond to the conclusions of historians, countered the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov. “We regard this as a figure that does not correspond to the data that we have, as well as historians across the continent. Professional historians, specialists in World War II know the exact figures,” the Kremlin spokesman said.
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According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the total irretrievable losses of the USSR in World War II amounted to 26.6 million people, of which about 18 million were civilians and about 8.7 million were military (of which 1 million Soviet soldiers and officers gave their lives during the liberation of the peoples of Europe).
“We will always remember and never forget the assistance of the United States during the Great Patriotic War,” Peskov added. “We hope that the Americans and President Trump will share with us the joy of celebrating the 80th anniversary of Victory.”
The level of erudition of the new US leader has also upset Russian senators. “Such a phrase does not do credit to the President of the United States. He should know the numbers and history, and understand who helped whom. Not to mention the number of victims! I hope he recovers. His assistants should prepare the material, and he should learn it by heart,” Grigory Karasin, Chairman of the International Committee of the Federation Council, told NEWS.ru.
Dmitry Peskov
Photo: Natalia Shatokhina/NEWS.ru
Dmitry Peskov
Is 78-Year-Old Trump Developing Dementia?
Associate Professor of the Department of Political Science and Sociology at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics Alexander Perendzhiev considers the new occupant of the White House to be “a victim of the educational environment” that has long been established in the United States. “Trump is not one of those who is interested in the history of World War II. He is a political loser. The only thing he is good at is making money.”
The source admits that Trump has simply begun to experience cognitive age-related changes. “After all, 78 years is no joke. But it’s one thing when a simple person is that age: even if he chatters, no one pays attention to him. But here he is, after all, a leader, and of such a power as the United States. In addition, Trump is too self-confident. It is very difficult to prove anything to such people. They think that they know everything, are smarter than everyone else, and no one dares to contradict them,” Perendzhiev explained to NEWS.ru.
What Trump Said About Casualties in the War Against Hitler Before
Trump’s previous speeches have featured real data on the number of victims of World War II. For example, in the address by US President Trump on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Victory on May 8, 2020, it was mentioned that in the campaign to destroy fascism in the European theater of military operations “more than 30 million lives were lost” (quoted from the State Department website ). However, most likely, this text was not written by Trump personally, but by his speechwriters.
In the same address, the 45th president also declared the victory of the United States and Great Britain without mentioning the Soviet Union.
What Other US Leaders Said About the 1945 Victory
Trump’s predecessor, the 44th US President Barack Obama, called the alliance between the USSR and the US during World War II one of the most important military alliances in history. “As for the holiday of May 9, which is common to all, it is a reminder of the incredible sacrifices that the Soviet Union made back then, and how strong the alliance between the United States and the people of Russia was,” Obama said in an interview with Russian TV.
Barack Obama
Photo: Annabelle Gordon – CNP/Consolidated News Photos/Global Look Press
Barack Obama
The head of the American administration noted that not only for Russians, but also for many Americans, the Second World War is associated with personal experiences. Thus, according to Obama, the father of the US Ambassador to the Russian Federation John Beyrle, being a soldier in the US Army, was captured by the Germans, but escaped and reached the front lines of the Soviet Army, in whose ranks he continued to fight.
The 42nd and 43rd US Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush attended the Victory Parades in Moscow in 1995 and 2005, respectively.
How Russian society responded to Trump’s post
Trump’s remark drew the ire of the Russian blogosphere, including both war correspondents and liberal-leaning writers.
In particular, war correspondent Alexander Sladkov gave Trump a rebuke. “We barely persuaded these Anglo-Saxons to take part in military operations in Europe in 1944,” Sladkov noted. “They <...> present the Normandy landing as a battle. This is against the backdrop of the battles we won in Stalingrad, Voronezh, Kursk, Kharkov, Berlin. Oh, Trump. He’s just a sweetheart,” Sladkov wrote on his Telegram channel (the author’s spelling and punctuation have been preserved). “I really don’t like the fact that Trump is showing himself to be the master of planet Earth. We didn’t elect him on Russian territory, we have our own leader,” Sladkov added.
TV presenter and blogger Ksenia Sobchak, commenting on US President Donald Trump’s words about the victory over Germany in World War II, recalled that it was the USSR that won. “Us? America? But the Soviet Union won the war , hello, disco,” Sobchak wrote in her Telegram channel “Bloody Lady.” Sobchak recalled that, according to various sources, between 28 and 40 million Soviet citizens died during the Great Patriotic War. In addition, she called for the dismissal of the White House employee who published this post.
Ksenia Sobchak
Photo: Sergey Bulkin/NEWS.ru
Ksenia Sobchak
Trump’s words are a mockery and blasphemy for the Soviet people , said the head of the League for Safe Internet, Ekaterina Mizulina. According to her, Soviet soldiers did not help anyone, but defended their homeland. She expressed hope that after this statement, many people’s enthusiasm for Trump will subside.
“World history has long known who defeated fascism, who raised the flag over the Reichstag , who bore the main burdens during World War II, the Great Patriotic War, and how many people died,” State Duma deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Alexander Yushchenko told NEWS.ru.
According to him, the entry of the United States into World War I was due to Washington’s personal capitalist interests. The deputy specified that the United States could be called the main beneficiary of these events. The parliamentarian recalled that during World War II, the Americans did not open the front in 1941-1942, but waited. He noted that the front was opened only in 1944, when victory was simply a matter of time.
Why Trump is obsessed with delusions of grandeur
State Duma deputy Anatoly Wasserman believes that Americans “do not suffer, but rather enjoy megalomania.” “In particular, Trump is truly, in all seriousness, convinced that the United States rules the entire world – and not so much by force as by authority,” Wasserman believes. “He believes that it was America that played a decisive role in all world events, including the second phase of World War II.”
Trump is absolutely sincere in his belief that all other countries were simply helping the United States, the deputy adds.
“I don’t think that this is Trump’s personal ‘screw-up’. This is precisely the general position. This is the American way of thinking,” Wasserman told NEWS.ru. “Of course, we can be offended by Trump. And not only for this. But, I repeat, these are not personal cockroaches in his head, this is a typical pattern of thinking in the United States. We just have to keep in mind that they are unlikely to recover from this in the foreseeable future.”
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