Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went after President Donald Trump's Ukraine policy on Sunday, claiming his administration is more interested in lining pockets than protecting American interests. Her accusation: Trump and his circle are "selling out" Ukraine to Russia in pursuit of business deals wrapped up in peace negotiations.
Business Deals Wrapped In Peace Talks
Clinton posted on X, writing that "The Trump administration's corruption has extended to selling out Ukraine — and America's interests — to Russia so that the Trump family and their friends can make a few bucks." She pointed her followers toward a November 28 Wall Street Journal piece that detailed a Miami Beach gathering last month where two American businessmen and a Russian counterpart worked on what was presented as a peace plan.
But the meeting wasn't just about ending the war. According to the Journal, attendees also mapped out strategies to reintegrate Russia's roughly $2 trillion economy into global markets, positioning U.S. companies to get there before their European rivals.
Clinton highlighted several parts of the report, including Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev's proposal to redirect about $300 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets toward U.S.-Russian investment projects and American-led reconstruction efforts in Ukraine. Dmitriev's vision apparently extends beyond infrastructure, encompassing joint ventures to extract Arctic minerals and even a potential Mars mission involving Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Another section Clinton flagged described what Western security officials view as a Kremlin tactic: bypassing traditional U.S. national security channels by pitching Russia as a massive business opportunity instead.
Trump Team Calls Framework Pragmatic
The Trump administration sees things differently. Officials and allies have defended their Ukraine framework as a practical route to ending the conflict and eventually rebuilding the country. European critics, however, have called early drafts of the plan a "Kremlin wish list."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a Monday briefing that the administration feels "very optimistic" about securing a deal following what she described as "very good talks" with Ukrainian officials in Florida. Special envoy Steve Witkoff was heading to Moscow for additional negotiations, according to CNN.
Bolton And Clinton Question Trump's Real Goals
Clinton's criticism came just one day after former national security adviser John Bolton dismissed Trump's 28-point peace outline as "typically Trumpian." Bolton criticized what he called an incoherent strategy and warned that Ukraine is being pushed toward territorial concessions from a weak negotiating position. He'd previously suggested Trump's actual goal is to "claim a Nobel Peace Prize" rather than strengthen Ukraine's leverage against Russia.
Interestingly, Clinton's latest attack marks a shift from her August comments on a podcast, when she said she'd nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize herself if he managed to end the war "without Kyiv ceding territory to Russia." That condition now seems like it might not hold up.