Historical revisionism is in vogue these days. It’s bad when it comes from a spurious historian who thinks that Winston Churchill is the villain of World War II. It’s worse—much worse—when falsehoods emanate from the president of the United States. Yet there was Donald Trump on Tuesday, spouting what can only be called a fake version of recent history in Ukraine—so recent, in fact, it’s not yet even history.
He faulted Ukraine, and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, for having “started” the war in that country. He claimed that the Ukrainian leader, widely hailed in Europe for resisting Russian aggression, enjoys only a “4 percent” approval rating at home. For good measure, he accused Zelensky of being a “dictator,” who should have to stand for election before he can have a seat at peace negotiations. The Financial Times reports that the Trump administration is balking at labeling Russia the aggressor—which it clearly was—in the G7’s statement for the war’s third anniversary February 24.