Duerr also explained that 20 years ago, “Vladimir Putin said he was fine with Ukraine cozying up to NATO. He has since changed his mind and used it as rationale for his illegal invasion.”
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Last month, Trump caused confusion for placing the blame on Zelenskyy for starting the war with Russia. “You should have never started it. You could have made a deal,” Trump said in reference to Zelenskyy. The rhetoric matched Putin’s words during an interview with Tucker Carlson in 2024, where Putin said, “It was they who started the war in 2014. Our goal is to stop this war. And we did not start this war in 2022.”
“It is very difficult to understand when you take kind of snippets here and there, and I think Trump has long been too close to Putin in my approximation,” Duerr said. “But at the same time, a lot of it comes from ‘The Art of the Deal.’ A lot of it is posturing.”
“I think that’s one of the reasons why Zelenskyy got agitated, because he wants Trump to call [Putin] a dictator,” Duerr continued. “To say that [Putin’s] the aggressor. [But] Trump is trying to bring together a deal.”
“What I’ve learned from President Trump is you’ve got to give him a bit of time,” Duerr added. “He’ll often say something outlandish in order to get a deal over here or to move the goalposts. And while I do see it as problematic, what I’ve learned from Trump is you’ve got to just give him time to work out the final deal.”
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Addressing the mineral deal that was cancelled following the Oval Office shouting match, Duerr said he believes Trump’s hope for the deal is part of a longer-term peace strategy. “It would say to Putin, ‘You can’t come here. It’s an American interest’…So it is, in a way, 3-D chess.”
ChurchLeaders asked Duerr about the long-term consequences for the United States’ alliances in Europe and around the globe if Trump pulls support from Ukraine and aligns with the broader interests of Russia.
“It would be a large rescale realignment that we haven’t seen since 1945. I mean, really, it would be an 80-year realignment. I don’t think we’re there yet,” Duerr said. “I think, you know, Putin has acted out and Trump has tried to come alongside him and say, ‘Let’s stop this aggression. Maybe we can work on it in a different way.’ But it really depends on how European leaders posture. Many move towards him to some degree.”
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“I don’t think it’s doom and gloom just yet, but it does have to be managed and nurtured. This is a careful moment,” Duerr went on to say. “Among other careful moments, there have been plenty in the past as well.”
Duerr encouraged Christians pray for those in leadership, saying, “None of us sit in those chairs, and it’s very, very difficult.”
“It is a dangerous moment. It should remind us that, in a Genesis 3 fallen world, conflict remains—it should be expected by us,” Duerr said. He encouraged Christians to ask themselves: “How can we manage it? How can we be Matthew 5:9 peacemakers in the world, and to always bear in mind the Great Commission?”
Watch the full interview here.
