September 27,2019--Trump's "Though"

The president of Ukraine, Volodymrt Zelensky, had just poured his heart out to our president--Ukraine was in a hot war with Russia and needed the nearly $400 billion in military assistance the U.S. Congress had appropriated to help them defend themselves. 

Trump without a public explanation and without informing the Ukrainians had unilaterally suspended the transfer of those urgently needed weapon systems. 

Zelensky, in their July 25th phone call, told Trump about his country's desperate needs. 

Almost as a non sequitur, as if he hadn't been listening, Trump said, "I would like you to do us a favor, though."

Something about this gnawed at me. I couldn't for quite some time put a finger on it. It was not just about Ukraine's needs. It wasn't only about one president humbling himself before the more powerful one. Though that rankled. 

It was something about that tacked-on "though."

"Though" used that way is a version of "however."

"Though" from the dictionary--it indicates that "a factor qualifies or imposes restrictions on what was said previously."

In fact, that "though" reveals Trump was not listening. That to him the Ukrainian president was an afterthought.

That "though" revealed that Trump doesn't care about Ukraine. He doesn't care about the frantic Zelensky. That "though" shows Trump doesn't care about Russian threats. That "though" exposed as much as anything we have seen the past three years that Trump cares only about Trump. 

In spite of that, though, his end is approaching.