During the Biden years, America acted as a party–an ally of Ukraine–in the war. After his inauguration, Trump made it clear that America no longer had any interest in the outcome of the war and simply wanted to end it. That shifted his position from a party to that of a mediator.
To the surprise of nobody but Trump and Vance, America’s efforts at mediation have failed. Trump is now talking about enforcing new economic sanctions on Russia in order to impose the settlement of his choosing. In other words, he is threatening to become an arbitrator.
It won’t work; there are no new sanctions available to us that will force Putin to stop fighting. The only way we can facilitate a fair settlement is by rearming Ukraine, thereby persuading Putin that his ultimate objectives are unattainable–in other words, by becoming a party again.