Hegseth rules out Ukraine NATO membership as part of any ceasefire with Russia
CBSJAN 31
US Policy Shifts on Ukraine, Pentagon Chief Calls NATO Membership 'Unrealistic'
Above: US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth spoke at a joint news conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during the NATO Defense Ministers' meeting on February 13, 2025, in Brussels, Belgium. Image copyright: Omar Havana/Stringer/Getty Image News via Getty Images
The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
The so-called America First foreign policy has always been all about Trump selling anyone and anything for the price he thinks is fair, regardless of values and virtues such as compassion, justice, and morality. He has surrendered to Russia to access rare-earth minerals underneath eastern Ukraine — even if that eventually allows Putin to launch a war for control of the whole of Ukraine.
Pro-Trump narrative
Unlike the Biden administration and globalist elites in Brussels, Trump and his team are moving to end the war in Ukraine so it's only natural that America's policy on Ukraine has shifted to a pragmatic approach and get the job done. It makes no sense to risk a large-scale war for Kyiv to take Donbas and Crimea back, and it's a matter of fact that Ukraine won't join NATO.