The word “dilemma” is frequently used to mean a difficult choice. That is incorrect; a “dilemma” is a choice between two unsatisfactory options.
Trump has a dilemma, in the true sense of the word, with Ukraine. On the one hand, if he simply washes his hands of the country and the Russians roll into Kyiv, it will make him look like a loser, not the boss of the world. Of course, he will blame the Europeans, Putin, Biden, and the Ukrainians, not himself, but he knows most people will see it otherwise. On the other hand, the MAGA base is divided on why it hates American involvement with Ukraine, but not on the undesirability of the involvement itself. Any attempt by Trump to maintain anything like Biden’s level of support for Ukraine will consequently meet with an immediate backlash from his most valued supporters.
Trump seems to be playing it down the middle. Will that work in the end? Probably not.