Трамп tries to shift responsibility for its own political failures to Ukraine, - correspondent in США Lisunova

President США Дональд Трамп uses criticism of Володимира Зеленського in the domestic political struggle ahead of the midterm elections to Congress. At the same time, there is no change in the position of the American administration on Ukraine in his latest statements

This opinion was expressed by the correspondent in США, the mediawoman of Razom for Ukraine Катерина Лісунова on the "Що далі?" program on the air of Espreso.

She said Trump’s current rhetoric about the Ukrainian president resembles the 2024 election campaign of the year, when similar statements were heard from Trump himself and Ілона Маска.

"Я би не сказала, що це зміна підходу до України. Мені це насправді більше нагадує передвиборчу кампанію 2024 року, коли були буквально аналогічні заяви від аналогічних людей", – зазначила Лісунова.

She believes that the Trump administration once again draws Ukraine into the domestic political confrontation in США and tries to use it to justify its own decisions.

In particular, according to the correspondent, we are talking about the consequences of the war in Iran and rising fuel prices. In her opinion, the American president is trying to present Zelensky as a politician with whom it is difficult to agree, and thus explain the failures of his own administration.

"І тому ці заяви треба сприймати саме з точки зору політичних перегонів, тому що ми зараз наближаємося до проміжних виборів до Конгресу", – сказала вона.

Lisunova suggests that the Republican party may lose a majority in the House of Representatives. In this situation, in her opinion, criticism of Ukraine and Zelensky may be one of the ways to mobilize Trump supporters.

A separate factor, the correspondent called the personal attitude of representatives of the American administration to the Ukrainian President.

According to Lisunova, during the conversation with representatives of the Trump administration, she felt a negative personal attitude towards Zelensky. At the same time, according to her, the team of the American president has a personal affection for the Russian dictator Володимира Путіна.

Can Republicans oppose Trump?

Lisunova noted that among the Republicans in the Congress there are a significant number of politicians who support Ukraine. At the same time, their position does not necessarily mean a willingness to openly oppose President США.

According to her, for the Republican party, an important factor remains the ability of trump to ensure victory in the elections. As long as he retains voter support and helps the party achieve political results, Republicans are likely to continue to support his course.

"Допоки його підтримка американським суспільством буде впливати на партію, партія його буде підтримувати", – пояснила кореспондентка.

According to Lisunov, the situation may change in the event of a significant defeat of the Republicans in the midterm elections to the Congress. Then the party may question the effectiveness of Trump's policy.

"Якщо Республіканська партія програє з великим відривом, то для цієї партії це буде знаком того, що чи не президент, чи не адміністрація не справляється", she noted.

Lisunova believes that it is under such conditions that a more visible opposition to the president's policy may arise inside the Republican Party.

At the same time, she drew attention to the fact that some of the principled Republicans, who traditionally supported Ukraine, had already decided not to run again because of disagreement with the policy of the current president США.

США midterm elections are scheduled for 3 November 2026. They will re-elect all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and about a third of the Senate. The results of the vote will determine the alignment of forces in Congress for the second half of Trump's presidential term.