Trump did not "arm Ukraine to the teeth" in his first term.
He send a little bit of infantry weapons, and some armored cars. That's it.
It was a big break from Obama administration that essentially embargoed any weapons sales to Ukraine, but it was not in any way "arming to the teeth". Arming Ukraine in a sufficient manner would have required tens of billions each year, that did not happen.
"- There were rumblings of a peace deal in early 2022, but Boris Johnson and European delegation shot it down."
There was no such thing. The "peace deal" in question was a Russian capitulation offer, which was never signed.
"- Adding Ukraine to NATO is a line in the sand for Putin. How would we feel the US feel if China and Mexico entered a defense agreement and placed Chinese missiles on the US border? Adding Ukraine to Nato is an ESCALATION."
There was zero chance of Ukraine joining NATO simply due to the existing territorial disputes with Russia. Russian ultimatum to US in December 2021 was clear — get NATO to pre-1997 — Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic etc should all leave NATO. That would mean dissolution of NATO effectively.
"a large US business interest in Ukraine (as opposed to backdoor dealings) is actually a way of strengthening the US's commitment and investment in Ukraine, right?"
It can work the same with Russia occupying the same territory. There is nothing there about "Ukraine" per se.
"- There were rumblings of a peace deal in early 2022, but Boris Johnson and European delegation shot it down."
There was no such thing. The "peace deal" in question was a Russian capitulation offer, which was never signed.
"- Adding Ukraine to NATO is a line in the sand for Putin. How would we feel the US feel if China and Mexico entered a defense agreement and placed Chinese missiles on the US border? Adding Ukraine to Nato is an ESCALATION."
There was zero chance of Ukraine joining NATO simply due to the existing territorial disputes with Russia. Russian ultimatum to US in December 2021 was clear — get NATO to pre-1997 — Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic etc should all leave NATO. That would mean dissolution of NATO effectively.
"a large US business interest in Ukraine (as opposed to backdoor dealings) is actually a way of strengthening the US's commitment and investment in Ukraine, right?"
It can work the same with Russia occupying the same territory. There is nothing there about "Ukraine" per se.