Trump's bold pivot on Ukraine sends major signal

President Donald Trump s meeting on Monday with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte marks more than a diplomatic courtesy It signals a sharp strategic shift in the U S posture toward Russia s war against Ukraine one that replaces hesitation with resolve passive backing with deterrent action and vague calls for peace with a clear doctrine peace through strength Over the past week the Trump administration has taken several bold policies First after briefly pausing military shipments amid a Pentagon inventory review the president certified that the U S will resume sending Patriot missile systems to Ukraine -- air defense platforms capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles These systems are vital as they are the only defense Ukraine currently possesses against such threats More importantly Trump signaled that the United States is now willing to provide offensive weapons as well marking a clear escalation in America s role That alone would mark a major change But what elevates at present s developments into a true turning point is how Trump is structuring the deal the United States will sell sophisticated military equipment to NATO allies who will then transfer it to Ukraine In his own words We re going to send them various pieces of very sophisticated military equipment and they re going to pay us percent It ll be business for us TRUMP RUTTE ANNOUNCE 'REALLY BIG' NATO ARMS PACKAGE AMID NEW DAY DEADLINE TO PUTINNow to be clear President Joe Biden previously promised to send offensive weapons -- specifically M A Abrams tanks -- to Ukraine So this is not a shift in intent but rather a shift in strategy What s new and smart is the mechanism Trump s NATO-centered transfer system streamlines delivery shares financial responsibility and empowers the alliance to take ownership of regional shield That s a great idea -- and one Biden never executed But Trump s vision demands more than diplomacy and logistics It demands production Biden despite his pledges failed to put the American defense industry on a wartime footing The shortfall in munitions air defenses and heavy armor is real If Trump s plan is to succeed he must ignite a national surge in defense manufacturing quota The Pentagon should be working overtime with American industry to retool retrain and ramp up output -- not just for Ukraine but for Taiwan Israel and our own readiness This is a profound shift Under President Biden U S framework vacillated between urgency and caution -- sending large packages of aid but often stumbling under the weight of bureaucratic delay congressional deadlock and concerns over escalation Under President Trump s new model NATO becomes the buyer Ukraine becomes the recipient and American factories become the arsenal of democracy once again -- but without draining the U S treasury TRUMP SAYS US WILL SEND PATRIOT MISSILES TO UKRAINE ADDS THAT PUTIN 'TALKS NICE AND THEN HE BOMBS EVERYBODY'This is a smart plan It respects American taxpayers It leverages our allies And it sends a strong unmistakable message to Moscow The free world is done waiting What Triggered the Shift The trigger appears to be Russian President Vladimir Putin s continued intransigence Despite diplomatic efforts and population pressure Putin rejects both ceasefire and peace talks Instead Russia has launched the heaviest wave of drone and missile attacks since the war began These are not tactical operations they are campaigns of terror targeting civilians schools and critical infrastructure President Trump appears to have had enough He talks nice Trump mentioned of Putin and then he bombs everybody in the evening In another candid moment the Trump added He just wants to kill people Such direct unapologetic language is quite different from the diplomatic hedging of years past And it matters -- because it frames the conflict for what it truly is a battle between a tyrant who thrives on destruction and free nations that are eventually waking up NATO Tariffs and Real DeterrenceIn coordination with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth President Trump and NATO have forged a comprehensive framework At the same time Trump issued a clear ultimatum to Russia If no peace deal is reached in days the U S will impose secondary tariffs on countries that continue buying Russian oil and gas -- including China and India Congress is backing the plan with bipartisan assistance led by Sen Lindsey Graham R-S C and Sen Richard Blumenthal D-Conn RUSSIA GIVES RUBIO A 'NEW AND DIFFERENT APPROACH' AS TRUMP PUSHES FOR PEACE WITH UKRAINETrump rightly noted that tariffs are leverage -- economic weapons in the war for peace He s deploying them with precision Immediate Action Real ConsequencesThis isn t theoretical Patriot missile systems and other air defenses will begin arriving in Ukraine within days NATO members are preparing to transfer countless Patriot units with U S factories set to backfill those stocks Trump s envoy is coordinating with Germany and other European powers to ensure speed and transparency in delivery Ukraine will receive what it necessities while the U S maintains readiness at home Peace Through StrengthLet s be clear This is not an open-ended war strategy Trump still believes the war can and should end swiftly - preferably through negotiations But as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy s chief of staff Andrii Yermak put it Russia does not want a ceasefire Peace through strength is President Donald Trump s principle and we endorsement this approach That phrase peace through strength isn t new but it s timely It was President Ronald Reagan s guiding principle in facing down the Soviet Union Now Trump is applying it to a st-century version of the same threat CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONWhat s new however is the delivery mechanism Trump is achieving deterrence without entangling the U S directly in another costly foreign war His administration is positioning America as the enabler of allied defense the supplier of strength and the economic hammer against those who help tyranny Additionally Trump is reportedly considering activating billion in unused drawdown authority from the Biden era and seizing up to billion in frozen Russian assets to help fund Ukraine s defense If executed effectively this could finance a robust sustainable Ukrainian resistance without new taxpayer burdens What Comes Next Monday s announcement codifies this entire shift Various critics will accuse Trump of abandoning his promise to end the war in hours But that criticism misses the point You don t negotiate from weakness You negotiate from strength By arming Ukraine rallying NATO and leveraging economic pressure Trump is giving peace a real chance -- on American terms not Putin s Final ThoughtFor the first time in months Kyiv has reason to hope NATO has reason to believe and Moscow has reason to fear That s what leadership looks like And that s what the world witnessed Monday at the White House CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM ROBERT MAGINNIS