OPINION
President Trump has made it unmistakably clear.
He's done playing games with Vladimir Putin.
His recent announcement of new military support for Ukraine and the imposition of secondary tariffs on entities doing business with Russia signals a new era of American foreign policy — decisive, forceful, and unyielding.
I write not merely as a witness to this pivotal moment in history, but as a political prisoner of Vladimir Putin — unjustly confined in my beloved homeland of Georgia.
My faith is tested daily, yet my courage and resolve remain unbroken.
I know what we are fighting for.
I believe in the enduring power of America and in the restoration of Western ideals—principles President Trump is reclaiming with unapologetic strength.
His decision last month to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities was not merely a tactical maneuver—it was a global declaration. A statement, not in words alone but in resolute action: the era of American timidity has ended.
This decisive strike marked the dawn of a new epoch — one defined by strategic clarity and moral leadership.
Under President Trump, U.S. foreign policy has entered what I call Trump Time: rapid, unrelenting, and unambiguous.
And the world has taken note. There is, once again, a sheriff in town.
Contrast this with the sterile diplomacy and deferential posturing that characterized prior administrations.
They introduced an ideology of retreat — where apology became central to diplomacy and disengagement a strategic goal.
In place of deterrence, there was capitulation.
The now-infamous "reset button" with Moscow effectively surrendered the post-Soviet space to the Kremlin’s imperialist ambitions.
When Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, U.S. support helped us survive as a nation-state — but it was not enough to stop further Russian aggression.
When Russia annexed Crimea, President Obama responded with words but no action.
That inaction sent a dangerous signal. Obama’s abandonment of missile defense in Eastern Europe, his hollow red lines in Syria, and his diplomatic courtship of Tehran all sent a clear message: the United States would not act.
When President Obama publicly declared that America would not go to war over Ukraine "under any circumstances," he effectively opened the door for Putin’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
But that door was firmly closed during Trump’s first term when he reinstated missile defense systems in Poland and Romania, reversed Obama-era arms embargoes on Ukraine, and delivered Javelin anti-tank weapons to Kyiv.
These were not symbolic gestures — they were lifelines to nations resisting tyranny.
Unfortunately, President Biden came to office and reversed Trump’s strategy, reintroducing the strategic incoherence of the Obama years.
In the lead-up to the 2022 invasion, the Biden administration repeatedly assured Moscow that any U.S. response would be limited to sanctions—assurances interpreted not as deterrents, but as a green light.
And so, Putin acted.
These failures of will were epitomized by two defining moments: the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and the delusional nuclear agreement with Iran in 2015.
Together, they marked the lowest point of American credibility and prestige in recent memory.
Then came President Trump again — returning to a foreign policy mired in self-doubt and reshaping it with startling speed.
For the first time in decades, the authoritarian axis — Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow—faced a United States no longer afraid to act.
The Iranian regime responded with its usual duplicity: diplomatic gestures masking nuclear ambition. Trump countered not with rhetoric, but with a clear deadline.
When that deadline passed unmet, he acted. Iran’s nuclear infrastructure was reduced to rubble. No war. No apologies. Just results. The Trump way.
Putin also miscalculated.
He now confronts a reinvigorated NATO, thanks in large part to Trump’s relentless pressure.
As the 47th U.S. commander in chief, Trump achieved what no other had dared — demanding and securing NATO commitments to raise military spending to 5% of GDP. That’s not appeasement. That’s leadership.
I have known Donald Trump personally, long before he entered politics.
He's not an ideologue — he is a strategist.
He is not bound by the rigid conventions of diplomacy, which makes him unpredictable to his enemies — and reliably strong for his allies.
"Make America Great Again" was never a slogan of isolationism.
It was a call to reaffirm American leadership — not through occupation, but through inspiration. America is at her greatest when she stands with the oppressed, when she confronts the autocrats of Moscow and Tehran, and
when her president speaks with moral clarity on behalf of those in Tbilisi, Kyiv, and Tehran who long to be free.
President Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize for rhetorical aspirations.
President Trump, by contrast, has earned it through action.
Were I not imprisoned, I would be in Oslo today, standing vigil to nominate him.
President Trump’s legacy will not simply be the transformation of American foreign policy. It will catalyze the transformation of authoritarian regimes in Russia, Iran, and China.
His legacy will be nothing less than the restoration of American greatness — and the rebirth of democratic resolve around the globe.
Let history record this truth: Donald Trump did not merely speak of greatness — he acted to make America great again.
Mikheil Saakashvili is a political prisoner in the country of Georgia, where he previously served as president. A prominent advocate for democratic reform across the post-Soviet space, he also served as Governor of Ukraine’s Odesa region and has been a vocal opponent of Russian aggression and authoritarianism.
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