Conservative columnist skewers Trump as 'treachery' abounds: 'Sick-making stuff'

Conservative columnist Charlie Sykes skewered President Donald Trump on Sunday as the president's "treachery" abounds.

Sykes, who authors "To The Contrary" on Substack, argued in a new essay that Trump's repeated attempts to appease Russian President Vladimir Putin amounted to the president's "October surprise," or one that could ultimately lead to his defeat during the midterm elections. Over the last week, Trump has agreed to buy millions of barrels of Russian diesel fuel and agreed to ease sanctions against Russia as a way of keeping the country "at the negotiating table" to end the war in Ukraine.

"Donald Trump’s treachery was predictable and predicted. Even so, watching him throwing a financial lifeline to Putin as the monstrous mob boss murders Ukrainians is sick-making stuff," Sykes wrote.

Sykes' new column arrived on the same day that Trump repeated claims that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was responsible for the global rise in diesel fuel costs because Ukraine continues to attack Russian oil infrastructure. Analysts have pointed out that Trump's alleged "energy ceasefire" between Ukraine and Russia has not yet worked, as both countries continue to attack each other.

At the same time, Trump has tried to deflect blame for recent Russian attacks against Ukrainian civilians. Last week, reports indicated that a slowdown in Ukraine's Starshield systems, which help identify and defend against ballistic missile attacks, resulted from an order from Trump's White House.

Sykes argued that the recent moves are "vindication" of the long-standing belief that Trump is working in Russia's favor.

"Would it help if he had the grace to admit that the critics were right from the start? Maybe," Sykes wrote. "But vindication doesn’t mean we don’t feel like throwing up as we watch the United States shiv a brave democratic ally, while Ukrainians die."