President Donald Trump may have given his conservative opponents a chance to hit back against his administration after his performance at the Alaska summit with Vladimir Putin last week, according to a columnist.
New York Times columnist Bret Stephens wrote in an essay for the outlet that Trump's performance reminded him of why he embraced the "neoconservative" political label. Neoconservativism refers to a loose ideology held by some anti-war protesters from the 1970s who became disaffected with the left's political establishment.
"Although the term “neoconservative” has fallen into disuse...I’ve never been shy about describing myself as one," Stephens wrote. "In Donald Trump’s whipsawing performances with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday and Volodymyr Zelensky and his European allies in Washington on Monday, I’m reminded of why."
Ahead of the summit, Trump said there would be "very severe consequences" for Russia if Putin refused to accept an immediate ceasefire in its war with Ukraine. That stance didn't last through the night, as Trump emerged from the meeting saying that a ceasefire wasn't necessary to bring peace.
Trump's envoy to Russia, Steve Witkoff, also announced agreements over security guarantees that the Russians immediately refuted.
Trump's flip-flopping seems to give neocons, who Stephens argued have been the president's most ardent conservative opponents, a chance to ding the president politically.
"Neocons may have long ago fallen out of fashion. To watch Trump in recent days is to be reminded that some old fashions deserve to be made new again," Stephens wrote.