On July 14, President Donald Trump announced that Russia and any country purchasing Russian oil would be hit with severe tariffs in 50 days if Moscow failed to sign a cease-fire with Ukraine. Two weeks later, during a trip to Scotland, he shortened the timeline to 10 days, arguing that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s cooperation was virtually absent. Despite Trump’s claim that U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff’s fifth meeting with Putin was “ highly productive ,” the deadline will hit on Friday.

Much of the commentary to date has focused on Trump’s U-Turn on the war in Ukraine—understandably so. Unlike his predecessor Joe Biden, Trump had no love for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who he called a “ dictator ” and falsely blamed for instigating the Russian war. And unlike Bide

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