At some point, saying whatever is needed to get a deal leads to praising the moral values of an indisputably evil man on behalf of the United States.
The president’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who was never confirmed by the U.S. Senate for any role, is in Moscow for negotiations with Vladimir Putin. The Russian government has released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American citizen that the Russians accused of fighting on behalf of Ukraine; the U.S. government formally designated Hubbard as a wrongful detainee in January 2025.
“You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir. And I salute that. I commend you, and I thank you again.”
A humanitarian.
The International Criminal Court indicted Putin for the war crimes of “unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.” I realize the International Criminal Court isn’t everybody’s favorite international institution these days, with good reason, but the mass kidnapping of Ukrainian children is not in dispute. Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab reports that more than 35,000 children taken from Ukraine to over 100 locations in Russia and Russia-occupied territory.
In October 2025, the United Nations concluded that the Russian military’s actions in Ukraine amount to two crimes against humanity: “‘murder and . . . forcible transfer of population’ and secondly, ‘deportations and transfers of civilians’ from areas occupied by Russian forces, some of whom were tortured.” The findings were based on some 500 publicly available videos of crimes examined — 247 of which have had their locations technically verified — and 226 interviews with Ukrainian citizens.
I realize that Witkoff is, like the president, a schmoozy Manhattan real estate mogul, used to speaking off the cuff with effusive praise, and basically saying whatever it took to get his negotiating partner to sign on the dotted line. Facts and truth are immaterial.
But if that impulse is unchecked, at some point you end up praising the moral values of an indisputably evil man on behalf of the United States of America.