Malcolm Rifkind finds the right words for Trump’s shame - Steve Cardownie
I first crossed paths with Sir Malcolm Rifkind back in the late 1980s when he was Secretary of State for Scotland and I was secretary of the Scottish Office Branch of my trade union, The Civil and Public Services Association.
I found myself sparring with him on occasion and, as he was a Queen’s Council at the time, you certainly had to have your wits about you. He served as a Conservative MP for Edinburgh Pentland’s constituency from 1974 to 1997 and he also held various Westminster Government posts, including Secretary of State for Defence and Foreign Secretary.
So, I was cheered to note that he waded into the Russian invasion of Ukraine debate with particular reference to Donald Trump.
Responding to reports that Trump was accused of limiting Ukraine’s access to the Starshield network and military intelligence which assisted Ukraine in protecting the country from Russian missile and drone attacks, he spoke to Sky News last Sunday, saying that “I think Donald Trump has shown himself as a person to be repulsive, as a president of the United States to be a disgrace to his own people as well as to his own international responsibilities.
"We all know that his actual reasons for this are a grubby attempt to win a few more votes in the mid-terms by trying to get oil prices down.”
Going on to say that “In order to achieve that, he has not only betrayed Ukraine in the middle of a war fighting for its very existence, but he is responsible for the deaths of many Ukrainians who will not now be protected by the attempts that have been successfully made in using intelligence provided by the States.”
One of Ukranian President Zelenskyy’s advisers gave an update on Monday, telling the BBC that, despite the intelligence being restored after a three-day pause, it continued to be incomplete and inconsistent and that the United States had failed to provide a clear explanation for the issue.
Not content with hampering Ukraine militarily, Trump has now issued an executive order waiving new measures from the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which included proposed 500 per cent tariffs on Russian goods and 100 per cent tariffs on third-party purchasers of Russian energy.
His preposterous proposition is that this will keep Vladimir Putin engaged in peace negotiations while Moscow called this move a historic moment for Russia.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, (who Trump has accused of not wanting to end the war and wants him replaced) wrote on social media that “A US sanctions blackout, easing pressure on the aggressor, financial rewards for Putin – all of this only encourages him to keep attacking. We must not give up ground. We must keep trying to end the war. To end it, not give Putin every reason to continue it indefinitely.”
Trump’s approval rating has dropped to an all-time low, with the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll suggesting that just 31 per cent approve of his performance in office.
In that time his net worth has grown significantly rising from an estimated $2.3 billion to $4.3 billion in 2024 to approximately $6 billion to $7.19 as of late 2026, according to the global media and financial companies, Forbes and Bloomberg -nice work if you can get it!
The Mid-term elections on 3 November can’t come soon enough!