I recently watched a TV interview with Robert Redford recorded in 1976. In it he described his career with special emphasis on two films which he felt were some of the most important. The Candidate was about a candidate for State Senator who started out with little hope of winning but through clever manipulation and high finance succeeded. Redford spoke of the USA political environment which he felt barely reflected the true needs of the nation and its people.

The second film was All The President’s Men which Redford had fought to have made along with the director Sydney Pollock. It took three years to complete due to its complexity and need to be as true to real events as possible. It was about President Nixon and the Watergate scandal which eventually brought down the president. I wondered how he would now view President Trump and his performance before and after his election…especially since the new president is a convicted felon who by becoming president somehow avoided several other virtually certain criminal convictions.

Recent Events

The USA’s shocking alignment with Russia at the United Nations came as the Trump administration has pursued discussions with Moscow about ending the war. President Donald Trump has ratcheted up his rhetoric towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The European-backed General Assembly resolution was adopted with 93 votes in favor. It notes “with concern the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation has persisted for three years and continues to have devastating and long-lasting consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for other regions and global stability” and “calls for a de-escalation, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the war against Ukraine.”

It also demands that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”

This was followed by Zelenskyy’s dreadful treatment by Trump and Vance in the Oval office in front of the world’s press and millions of TV viewers. He refused to sign a ‘minerals deal’ which granted the USA rights to rare earths and minerals in Ukraine in return for the aid given by the USA (wrongly quoted by Trump as $500 billion when in reality it was $130 billion) in fighting the war with Russia. Zelenskyy refused to sign as there was no proposal or promise for Ukraine’s future safety and security. Zelenskyy was forced to leave the White House immediately following the disagreement.