SINGAPORE: Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s wife, Ho Ching, has once again drawn attention by sharing a post by Polish blogger Michael Petraeus that commented on the viral argument between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
This is not the first time Mdm Ho has shared posts by Mr Petraeus, who runs the controversial Critical Spectator blog. The blog is known to be extremely pro-People’s Action Party (PAP) – the party that Mr Lee ran for 20 years as Singapore Prime Minister until he stepped back last year – and critical of opposition figures and members of Singapore’s civil society.
The latest Critical Spectator commentary that has gained Mdm Ho’s interest is a take on the Oval Office showdown. The post called out Mr Trump and his number two JD Vance for what he described as a desperate push for “symbolic victories” rather than tangible solutions, while applauding Mr Zelenskyy for not falling for arm-twisting tactics. Petraeus wrote:
Mr Petraeus argued that Trump’s focus on securing a minerals deal with Ukraine—amid the ongoing war with Russia—was primarily driven by a need to demonstrate progress to the American public. He added that the US President perhaps underestimated Mr Zelenskyy’s resilience and ability to negotiate.
Calling Mr Trump a “TV show host,” Mr Petraeus opined that the US president assumed that the Ukrainian leader, who rose to prominence as a comedian before his political career, would simply submit to US demands under pressure. Instead, Mr Zelenskyy, whom the blogger praised as astute, refused to sign an agreement that would not benefit Ukraine.
“The irony is that it’s the Ukrainian president that has all the cards now after Trump threw his own out the window in the past two weeks,” Mr Petraeus observed. He argued that Trump’s previous statements about ending the war and halting US aid to Ukraine had left the US with little leverage to secure a deal.
Mr Petraeus also pointed to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which pledged US support for Ukraine’s sovereignty in exchange for its renouncement of nuclear weapons, suggesting that Ukraine was under no obligation to repay the US for military aid provided over the past three years.
The blogger concluded by noting that the ultimate loser in the confrontation was not Ukraine, but rather Mr Trump and his allies. “In the end, however, the ‘comedian’ took public abuse from him and his lapdog Vance, and then left them high and dry without the paper they so desperately seek,” he wrote.
While his take has won both supporters and critics, Mdm Ho’s decision to share this commentary has sparked debate and has once again placed her at the center of political discourse, with many questioning her views on international matters and their potential implications for Singapore’s foreign policy.