To appreciate the dramatic shift in President Donald Trump’s policy towards Ukraine, consider two scenes in the Oval Office, months apart:

This is one of Trump’s favorite rhetorical tics —the conjuring up of a mythical community (“people are saying”) that agrees wholeheartedly with some highly questionable assertion. Who are these people who were surprised by Putin’s lies and obfuscations about the war?

President Trump is now supporting a plan to send advanced weapons — including Patriot missiles — to NATO for delivery to Ukraine, marking a dramatic reversal after months of uncertainty about U.S. support.