We’ve all heard of Occam’s Razor. Simply stated, it means that the simplest explanation for something is usually correct.
Occam’s Razor is probably the most famous philosophical razor, but there are others. One of my other favorites is Hanlon’s razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
According to Wikipedia, “In philosophy, a razor is a principle or rule of thumb that allows one to eliminate (shave off) unlikely explanations for a phenomenon…” I might add to that an addendum of my own, “… and which best explains all past and future actions regarding the subject”.
Well, I’d like to throw my hat in the ring with a philosophical razor to explain Donald Trump’s positions, actions, and statements regarding Russia, Putin, Ukraine, Zelensky, and everything adjacent to them. When you apply my razor, everything will make sense. Not only will all his past and current actions make sense, but you’ll be able to predict the future with reasonable accuracy.
First I’ll state the principle, then I’ll expand:
- Trump has no moral compass… None.
- Trump really, really likes Putin
- Trump really, really hates Zelensky
I guess that’s a 3-blade razor (most philosophical razors are just one statement).
I’ll expand below, but if you’re short on time or attention span, just trust me. This is all you need to know. These three points are all intrinsically true, they are very unlikely to change significantly, they explain everything related to Trump’s positions regarding Putin/Russia/Ukraine, they will accurately predict everything future, and there are no substantive exceptions to these statements.
Trump Has No Moral Compass
Does this point really even need to be stated? Would anyone seriously dispute this assertion? Most MAGAs with whom I speak would not. They would agree, but claim it doesn’t matter. I’m not even sure if Trump himself would dispute the claim. Actually, in all seriousness, I don’t think Trump would even understand the claim. “Moral compass?”
Sexual Morality
And no, we’re not talking here about matters of sexual morality. I think we can all agree – especially Christian Evangelicals (as they’re a sizable chunk of Trump’s base, and the largest segment of my anecdotal sample) — that ship has sailed. We don’t care about that any more. Have as many affairs as you want, and bonus points for affairs with porn star/hooker/stripper types. It doesn’t matter. Who cares? Seriously.
I’m not arguing here that we should or shouldn’t care about it, only that we don’t. You don’t.
We used to care. Or at least we did a better job of pretending. But in the 1990s Bill Clinton and the Democrats helped us learn that morality (sexual) doesn’t matter. It doesn’t affect one’s ability to govern… It’s completely disconnected. So now MAGAs say, “You thought Clinton was bad? Hold my beer… watch THIS shit show”.
But that was 20 years ago…
Some Christians try to argue that all Trump’s sexual debauchery was 20 years ago and that he has since changed. Some even argue “The Holy Spirit changes lives”, implying that Trump has had a real conversion experience (Hi J.S., that’s you).
I agree. People CAN change. We see it regularly in the lives of celebrities who go through such transformations. But there’s almost always SOME visible evidence. They at least MENTION IT publicly and – to a large extent – convincingly.
Alice Cooper – bad boy rocker with a history of drugs and alcohol – became a Christian. You can Google that and find lots of information, like how he now attends church and even leads Bible studies.
It doesn’t prove anything. One can become a Christian without going to church or Bible studies, and one can go to church and lead Bible studies without being a Christian. But at least he’s open and public about his faith, and things in his life seem consistent with this claim.
Many celebrities claim to be Christian. Some claim they’ve been Christians for a long time and claim openly that their faith is very important to them. Others had morally dubious pasts and claim to have later become Christians.
Do a web search for “Is Denzel Washington a Christian?” and you’ll probably see that he has been a Christian for a long time and has consistently spoken publicly about his beliefs, the importance of God in his life, and the role faith plays in his career. In fact, he’s now even a licensed minister.
Others who claim to have converted include Mark Wahlberg, Jane Fonda, Stephen Baldwin, Chris Tucker, and Tyler Perry. For every one of them you can go to Google (or any decent search engine) and search for “Did _______ become a Christian?”
In every case you’ll find multiple reports and direct quotes from the person themselves substantiating the claim that they became Christians somewhere along the way. You’ll find quotes from them, maybe videos of them in an interview talking about their faith, maybe describing what led them to Christ, and they always seem to have a story.
I’m not saying they’re all perfect or that their specific claims to faith match exactly what you expect, or that their theology is always 100%, but all of them are on record as going public with their faith. And it’s more than just checking the “Christian” box instead of the “Muslim”, “Buddhist”, “Agnostic”, or “Atheist” box.
Now Let’s think through Trump’s case… It’s undisputed that Trump WAS a total dog – at least up through 2005-ish (that’s the Access Hollywood “grab’m by the pussy” timeframe). And you say somewhere along the way he saw the light and had some spiritual transformation – sometime before 2015-ish when he announced his candidacy for president, right?
A quick Google search shows that Trump was raised and confirmed in the Presbyterian Church, but some time later he strayed from the faith into a life of debauchery.
But surely if since then he has returned to the narrow path one should be able to find an interview, a speech, something mentioned in a biography, an article… Something, anything where this is recorded, right? Someplace where he talks about how far he’s drifted from God and the straight path and has found his way back to the light, and now seeks God every morning in prayer and Bible study.
At least once in public he would have at least once made some coherent statement that another human heard and recorded on video or audio, or even just recorded in a written form, right?
It would be even more impressive if evidence of such a transformation would be BEFORE he started running for president in 2015 when he needed to con Evangelicals into voting for him.
I have seen one video in which an interviewer asked him about his faith (With All Due Respect | Bloomberg Originals | Aug 26, 2015 – note that this was two months after he announced his candidacy). He basically said that the Bible is his favorite book, but it’s private and he doesn’t want to “get into details”. The interviewer followed up asking if he could at least share a favorite Bible verse. Trump again declined, claiming his faith was very private.
Most celebrities who undergo this transformation WANT to talk about it. It comes naturally to them to talk about it. Even if they’re not extremely vocal about it, at least if asked they have something to say.
If you know something different… something convincing, please,
send me a link… I’ll be waiting.
There is testimony to the contrary, that he was dishonest about his position on many things since 2015, including his view of evangelical Christians and abortion.
Retired Gen. John F. Kelly served in Trump’s first administration as Secretary of Homeland Security for six months in 2017 and was then chosen to be Trump’s White House Chief of Staff where he served for a year and a half.
Kelly says:
[Trump is] A person who is not truthful regarding his position on the protection of unborn life, on women, on minorities, on evangelical Christians, on Jews, on working men and women, … A person that has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is all about… A person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators…
Source: Exclusive: John Kelly goes on the record to confirm several disturbing stories about Trump
Note that Kelly had a long, distinguished military career prior to his posts in the Trump administration, and was even promoted in the Trump administration to a position with direct daily proximity to the president. He has no criminal record, or any other stains on his character that might discredit his integrity.
Michael Cohen – Trump’s closest associate, lawyer, and emissary for more than a decade (2006-2018) – “tells all” in his 2020 book, “Disloyal: A Memoir”. Some view Cohen as a shady character, and he was convicted felon, but around half of the acts for which he convicted were done in service of Trump. In any case, he says,
As the evangelicals inhaled Trump’s Norman Peale horse shit, they solemnly asked to approach him to “lay hands” on him. I watched with bated breath. Trump was a massive germophobe, as I’ve noted, so the idea of dozens of sets of hands touching his clothing and skin would appall him, I knew. But even this didn’t faze the Boss: he closed his eyes, faking piety, and gave the appearance of feeling God’s presence as the assembled group called for guidance in determining the fate and fortune of Donald Trump, America, and the message of Jesus Christ.
If you knew Trump, as I did, the vulgarian salivating over beauty contestants or mocking Roger Stone’s propensity for desiring the male sexual organ in his mouth, as he would say less politely, you would have a hard time keeping a straight face at the sight of him affecting the serious and pious mien of a man of faith. I know I could hardly believe the performance, or the fact that these folks were buying it.
Watching Trump, I could see that he knew exactly how to appeal to the evangelicals’ desires and vanities—who they wanted him to be, not who he really was. Everything he was telling them about himself was absolutely untrue. He was pro-abortion; he told me that Planned Parenthood was the way poor people paid for contraception. He didn’t care about religion. Homosexuals, divorce, the break-up of the nuclear family—he’d say whatever they wanted to hear, and they’d hear what they wanted to hear.
Source: Michael Cohen, Disloyal: A Memoir, Skyhorse Publishing, 2020
Now feel free to dismiss both Kelly and Cohen if you wish, but at least recognize that their claims about Trump’s actions and attitudes about Christians were well into his presidency, not 20 years ago. And, like it or not, the attitudes they describe as happening during his presidency are very consistent with Trump’s well-documented earlier words (“grab’m by the pussy…”), attitudes, and reputation (serial cheater, adulterer, all-round moral trainwreck).
Recognizing Good vs Evil
BUT that sexual morality thing is not the kind of moral compass I’m talking about here anyway… I’m talking about something FAR WORSE.
I’ve addressed much of this theme at Trump on Good vs Evil if you want to read more, but here when talking about a lack of moral compass, I’m talking about the ability to watch an aggressive, militaristic, expansionist country with a half-millennium-long rap sheet launch an all-out nationwide invasion of a peaceful, innocent neighbor, committing countless heinous war crimes, and be completely unable to even identify which party is in the wrong, while labeling Canada and Mexico as the really evil players on the modern world stage.
I’m talking about his feeble, repugnant efforts to broker peace by ALWAYS placing all the demands on Ukraine to make concessions, compromise, etc., while demanding almost nothing from the invader. This is like telling the mugging victim she must compromise with the mugger and make concessions.
I’m talking about how one reacts when they hear reports of discovered torture chambers, rapes, and summary civilian executions (all civilians), and can’t really see evil (“there are people dying on both sides…”).
For an example of a healthy, well-developed moral compass, below is how Ronald Reagan spoke when the USSR shot down one civilian airliner killing all 269 on board. For comparison, on average over 330 Ukrainian civilians have been killed per month since the start of the February 2022 invasion… Basically a Korean Airliner per month for 42 months (Source: Statista).
Reagan:
I’m coming before you tonight about the Korean airline massacre, the attack by the Soviet Union against 269 innocent men, women, and children aboard an unarmed Korean passenger plane. This crime against humanity must never be forgotten, here or throughout the world. …
Make no mistake about it, this attack was not just against ourselves or the Republic of Korea. This was the Soviet Union against the world and the moral precepts which guide human relations among people everywhere. It was an act of barbarism, born of a society which wantonly disregards individual rights and the value of human life and seeks constantly to expand and dominate other nations.
They deny the deed, but in their conflicting and misleading protestations, the Soviets reveal that, yes, shooting down a plane — even one with hundreds of innocent men, women, children, and babies — is a part of their normal procedure if that plane is in what they claim as their airspace. …
… But we shouldn’t be surprised by such inhuman brutality. Memories come back of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, the gassing of villages in Afghanistan. If the massacre and their subsequent conduct is intended to intimidate, they have failed in their purpose. From every corner of the globe the word is defiance in the face of this unspeakable act and defiance of the system which excuses it and tries to cover it up. With our horror and our sorrow, there is a righteous and terrible anger…
Source: Address to the Nation on the Soviet Attack on a Korean Civilian Airliner, September 5, 1983
Don’t just say “Yeah, but that was different because…” We can argue about that later. Just notice the unmistakable moral black and white language, the unambiguous condemnation of the act and the perpetrator, and the grieving for the victims.
This is how Reagan spoke of one airliner, and an airliner that did accidentally drift off course into USSR air space. No Ukrainian civilians drifted into Russian territory – they are just murdered in their own country in their own homes while they sleep.
Could Donald Trump even give a speech like this even if it were fully written out for him and put on a teleprompter? Has he ever spoken in such a way about anything? If he could utter the words, would it be believable? Would he burst into flames? Would he be as convincing as he usually is when trying to pretend he is a Christian and believes in God?
He couldn’t – because he can’t even see it that way. He wouldn’t be able to really feel anything about it like Reagan did because he wouldn’t be able to fully see what was wrong with it, because he lacks any moral compass. He cannot distinguish between right and wrong, and between good and evil.
It’s quite easy to imagine Trump responding to the same event highlighting the fact that the airliner drifted into Soviet airspace and focusing on the emotional trauma that poor fighter pilot suffered.
Here’s how Trump responds to moral atrocities:
On April 13, 2025 – Palm Sunday – Russia launched a massive missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy killing at least 34, injuring at least 117. This was only days after another Russian missile attack on Kherson Ukraine killed 20 civilians. (Source: Wikipedia: 2025 Sumy airstrike).
On April 14, 2025 when asked about that event, Trump said,
[Zelensky is] always looking to purchase missiles. He’s against… Listen, when you *start a war, you got to know that you can win the war, right? You don’t *start a war against somebody that’s 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles. …
You have millions of people dead. Millions of people dead because of three people, I would say three people. Let’s say Putin, number one. But let’s say Biden who had no idea what the hell he was doing, number two, and Zelenskyy.
Source: WATCH: El Salvador’s Bukele says he will not release man mistakenly deported, issue ‘preposterous’ | PBS NewsHour | Apr 14, 2025
[* Zelensky didn’t “start a war”. He’s the president of the country THAT WAS INVADED. He “started a war” only like France and Britain “started a war” with Hitler.]
Previously during an Oval Office visit, Trump and JD Vance openly, publicly berated Zelensky, screaming at him that he didn’t “have the cards” and that he “doesn’t say ‘thank you’ enough”. Afterward, Trump posted:
I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.
Source: A Statement from President Donald J. Trump, Truth Social, February 28, 2025
For the bigger context, remember that Zelensky is the president of the country which at the time of this meeting had been on the receiving end of an unprovoked barbaric attack for three full years, and still fighting for its very existence, and yet Trump (and others) attack him while he’s a guest.
Trump REALLY, REALLY LIKES PUTIN
No matter how obvious the evil perpetrated by Putin, Trump never has expressed any clear condemnation of that evil. He likes Putin, a lot. Why? Who knows? Who cares? One need not speculate about what possible compromising dirt Putin may have on Trump, or about how Trump is actually some kind of sleeper agent or Kremlin asset. We only need to look at the clear-as-day words he speaks and his actions (and inactions).
Here’s a guy who’s very savvy… I know him very well. Very, very well. …
I knew Putin very well. I got along with him great. He liked me. I liked him. I mean, you know, he’s a tough cookie, got a lot of the great charm and a lot of pride. But the way he — and he loves his country, you know? He loves his country.
Source: Clay & Buck – Full Interview: President Trump with C&B from Mar-a-Lago, February 22, 2022
Putin speaks to me. He doesn’t speak to anybody else. He doesn’t want to talk, because he was very insulted when he got thrown out of the G8, as I would be, as you would be, as anybody would be. He was very insulted. And, I mean, he was thrown out by Trudeau, who convinced one or two people, along with Obama. He was thrown out. And he’s not a happy person about it… He basically doesn’t even speak to the people that threw him out. And I agree with him.
Source: PM Carney meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at G7 Leaders’ Summit | cpac | June 16, 2025
* Google “when and why was russia removed from the g8”, or use any other search engine. Answer: “Russia was suspended from the G8 in March 2014 because of its annexation of Crimea. The G8 countries canceled a planned summit in Russia and held a meeting without it, effectively reverting to the G7. This was a punishment for violating international law and a message that Russia’s actions were inconsistent with the group’s shared values.”
But everybody, including Putin, said that Operation Warp Speed, what you did with that, nobody can believe it. …
And if I can stop it because I have a certain power or a certain relationship, I had a very good relationship with President Putin. Very, very good. That’s a positive thing.
Source: President Trump Participates in a Cabinet Meeting | The White House | Aug. 26, 2025
I know Putin very well
Source: ABC News Presidential Debate: Harris and Trump meet in Philadelphia |
ABC News | Sep 10, 2024
The one that I thought would be easiest would be because of my relationship with President Putin, but he’s let me down.
Source: WATCH LIVE: Trump and UK Prime Minister Starmer hold news briefing as president’s state visit ends | PBS NewsHour | Sep 18, 2025
I think that President Putin wants to end the war or I wouldn’t be talking this way. I think he wants to end the war. I spoke to him yesterday for two and a half hours. We went through a lot of details. He wants to get it ended. …
I had a very good talk yesterday with President Putin. I think he wants to get it done.
Source: President Trump Participates in a Bilateral Lunch with the President of Ukraine | The White House | Oct 17, 2025
I have a very good relationship with President Putin
Source: President Donald Trump’s extended 60 Minutes interview | 60 Minutes | Nov 2, 2025
But by far the creepiest episode of all was in the Oval Office on August 22, 2025 when he was hosting a discussion about hosting the FIFA (soccer) World Cup in 2026. Only a few weeks earlier he had his Alaska meeting with Putin, and Putin sent him what appears to be an 8×11 portrait of Trump and Putin together. Trump – with no context to make this a normal, natural thing, goes on this tangent…
I was just sent a picture from somebody that wants to be there very badly. Uh he’s been very respectful of me and of our country, but not so respectful of others. But he’ll uh I’m going to sign this for him, but uh I was sent one and I thought you’d all like to see it [Holds up 8×11 portrait of Putin and Trump together in Alaska]. That’s a man named Vladimir Putin, who I believe will be coming depending on what happens. He may be coming and he may not, depending on what happens. We have a lot of things happening over there, next couple of weeks. So, but I thought it was a nice picture of him. Okay, of me, but nice of him. So, that was very nice that it was sent to me.
Source: President Trump Makes an Announcement | The White House | Aug 22, 2025
Yikes…
Trump Really, Really Hates Zelensky
While Trump never says he “hates” Zelensky using exactly that word, his antipathy is barely disguised. Of Zelensky he says things like “Every time that Zelensky comes to this country, he walks away with $60 billion. He’s the greatest salesman ever” – Biden-Trump debate transcript
I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved … He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace. (regarding Oval Office meeting, Feb 28, 2025)
Source: Truth Social | @realDonaldTrump | Feb 28, 2025, 12:16 PM
Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and “TRUMP,” will never be able to settle… [Zelenskyy] refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden “like a fiddle.” A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left… Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the “gravy train” going. I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died…
Source: Truth Social | @realDonaldTrump | Feb 19, 2025, 9:47 AM
* NOTE: Almost all of what Trump claims in this quote is false – at no point did America spend $350 billion, Zelensky’s approval ratings have remained very high throughout the war, and Ukraine’s constitution prohibits elections during times of martial law for obvious reasons. More than half the country would be unable to participate due to either living as refugees abroad, in the military on the front line, dead, or living in Russian-occupied regions. Also, no opposition candidates even want to participate in a presidential election during war – even his opposition agrees it would not be a fair election. And he “has done a terrible job”? By not surrendering? Compare this with his constant and glowing remarks about Putin… never any condemnation there.
Bob’s Razor Applied
But what does this all mean in real-world terms? Very simple, unfortunately. Trump does not want Ukraine to succeed in its defense – and he absolutely wants no part in helping them, and he wants Russia to win.
It’s a well-known axiom that whoever Trump speaks to last is the position to which he tends to lean until he talks to someone else with a different position on the same subject.
So sure, it’s possible for him to sometimes have a decent, cordial meeting with Zelensky and not get into a shouting match and possibly sound a little agreeable toward supporting the victims. It’s the same when Trump has meetings with EU and NATO leaders, or leaders of UK, France, Germany, Italy, or Poland. They talk a little sense into him – but it lasts only for a brief moment.
And there is occasional congressional pressure to oppose Russia and aid Ukraine, and a majority of American citizens oppose Russia and support Ukraine, so sometimes Trump has to try to not be too obvious.
But his affections lay elsewhere, and anything that may temporarily cause him to temper his bad judgment will wear off 30 seconds after he walks away from that conversation. His default groove is to side with Putin.
Interpret all Russia/Ukraine news with “Bob’s Razor” in mind and you’ll be right every time.