Amsterdam: One phone call from Trump can end the trauma of UOC persecution

Donald Trump. Photo: BBC

On August 5, 2025, at a meeting with the New York Young Republicans, Robert Amsterdam, an American lawyer representing the UOC, commented on why the U.S. top leadership is not intervening in the persecution of the UOC in Ukraine. He made these remarks during his address, according to an exclusive UOJ video report from the U.S.

The key question came from a young Republican named Hugo, who noted that within the “Make America Great Again” movement there is disappointment with U.S. policy toward Ukraine, which “differs somewhat from what we heard during the election campaign.” He suggested that "there are still people around Donald Trump from the neoconservative establishment who do not want anything to change."

“The truth is, all he has to do is pick up the telephone. He doesn't have to condition anything. He needs to pick up the phone and he needs to say, "Stop going after Jesus Christ. That's five words. That's all he has to do and this is over,” Amsterdam said in response to a question about what the U.S. administration could do to address the problem.

The lawyer expressed confidence that "if there was ever any newspaper coverage, or if there was ever a way to get at these people, I think Trump could be motivated to do something.” Amsterdam stressed that the situation with the UOC is an “embarrassment to the United States, because it really is the policy of the last president.”

He pointed out that the core problem is that information about the persecution of the UOC is not reaching the U.S. leadership. “It has to rise to that level of attention, which is why there's no pressure because the Ukrainians know that and the most important thing to the Ukrainians is to keep this on the download, they want to keep it quiet. They're doing a great job.,” he explained.

Amsterdam provided a fresh example of clergy persecution: “Today, a young priest was taken off the streets of Kiev and we'll end up on the front lines. They're doing this with more and more priests and I don't have to tell you what the odds are of a priest on the front lines in this war.”

Asked whether the UOC issue is reaching Trump’s team, the lawyer said he had no reliable information. He noted that Vice President J.D. Vance had already spoken on the topic and that TV host Tucker Carlson had invited him three times to discuss the situation with the Ukrainian Church.

“JD spoke about it. Tucker had me on his show three times. He had a member of the church on the show once. He's done everything he can. I have no idea if in fact comments have been made,” Amsterdam said.

He also criticized the influence of the Ukrainian lobby in Washington under the previous administration: “The idea of the level of control we gave Ukraine during Biden is something I would never imagine possible. I mean the Ukrainians controlled the U .S. government,” he asserted.

At the same time, Amsterdam acknowledged positive changes under the current administration: “I have to salute the new administration because I certainly don't get that feeling.” He expressed hope that if information on religious persecution in Ukraine reaches President Trump directly, the U.S. administration will be able to pressure Kyiv to end the persecution of the canonical UOC.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that, according to Amsterdam, the creation of the OCU and the persecution of the UOC were initiated by U.S. authorities.

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