The Ukrainian president approached the White House with a wide smile and reached out his hand. “You’re all dressed up today.” The U.S. president said as he shook the Ukrainians hand. “Oh yes… How are you Mr. President?” “He’s all dressed up today. ” The U.S. president continued, turning to the press with a smile as he rests his hand on the Ukrainian president’s back.
The two were here to sign the minerals deal. As mentioned in Chapter I, the minerals deal was a declaration of cooperation between the United States and Ukraine, by creating a fund in which both countries could invest and profit from the rare earth minerals found in Ukraine. More importantly, this meeting was to continue the positive relationship between Ukraine and America. Which, under President Biden, funded nearly half the effort towards Ukraine’s existential war.
However, since the re-election of Trump – goodwill was stretching thin. Up to this point, Trump had better things to say about the man invading Ukraine, than the man trying to defend it.
For Trump and his cabinet, this was their most important public meeting so far, not only for satisfying the campaign promise of ending the war – but presenting to the world how they could end the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War 2.
The meeting ended up as a public display of what Americans hope doesn’t happen behind closed doors. It’s a humbling experience, to see that the stupid hierarchical disputes we witness in our own lives and jobs aren’t beyond the Oval Office.
It was a petty attack based upon not following Trump’s word as gospel, and then doubling down when there was an attempt to bring reality back into the room. Very early in the meeting, Zelenskyy mentioned that Europe had really helped Ukraine financially despite Trump’s false comments that America had contributed much more to this war than Europe causing an awkward did/did-not back and forth between the two presidents.
Following this, a reporter asked Zelenskyy why he “doesn’t wear a suit” accompanied by a low disembodied laugh. A laugh that was omnipresent during this meeting, and one that I can only describe as one that accompanies a group of thugs who have you cornered in the back of the locker room – letting you know, that they know – you’re screwed.
Trump was asked many different times “what if Russia breaks the ceasefire?” (Just like Russia has every time in the past.) When asked by a CNN reporter what would happen if the minerals deal wasn’t enough to protect Ukraine from Russia, Trump changed the subject telling the CNN reporter that, “You know they ought to focus on CNN, on survival. Not asking me these ridiculous questions.” Followed by that same, evil laugh.
The meltdown started after JD Vance answered a question on Trump’s tactics for peace. “So look – for four years, the United States of America, we had a president who stood up at press conferences and talked tough about Vladimir Putin and then Putin invaded Ukraine and destroyed a significant chunk of the country. The path to peace, and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy.” (If this meeting is at all an example of the type of diplomacy President Trump plans on using, god save us.)
The Ukrainian President mentioned despite all attempts at diplomacy, Russia still invaded. “What kind of diplomacy JD, you are speaking about?” To which Vance responded “I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s gonna end the destruction of your country. Mr. President with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the oval office and try to litigate this in front of the American media, right now you guys are going around, and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”
It completely goes to hell from here, and I wish I could include it but the article would be too long and might be doing the original video a disservice. Vance calls this question from Zelenskyy an “attack on the administration that’s trying to save his country”… Zelenskyy states that the U.S. will feel Russian influence despite the big ocean which really sets a fire under Trump’s seat causing the US President to go on a tirade about how Zelenskyy is in no position to negotiate and that he doesn’t “have the cards.”
The conversation only devolved further with the Vice President calling into question whether Zelenskyy had said “Thank you” once during the meeting (he did, three times.) In the silence following Trump’s tirade against Zelenskyy, a reporter asked Trump one final time what he would do if Russia still invaded Ukraine during a ceasefire, to which he replied “what if a bomb drops on your head right now?”
“This is gonna be great television… I will say that.”
-Trump’s final words of the meeting.
I understand how this was such a bizarre moment that it raises the question of whether or not this was a planned attack. Hell, during that final 13 minutes of the meeting had Marco Rubio dissociating to perhaps, a better and kinder world; but I think the question is whether it matters? To me, the question is simply ‘pick your poison.’
Would you rather the President and the Vice President be incompetent dunces willing to dogpile on top of a world leader fighting for his country’s sovereignty over ‘not saying thank you enough’ or, would you rather this be a planned attack, where the method of ‘demonstrating’ its policy change is by berating this world leader over miniscule issues.
Either way, this erodes the trust other countries will be putting in the United States for the near future. I think the president is ignorant and still believes in the booming economy of the post world war United States or, the ‘Great America’ that his slogan references.
The America that runs this show, and anybody who doesn’t bow to its wishes is irrelevant to the game, but as we’re seeing – it was these positive relationships with other countries that gave us our power, and surprisingly we were able to keep the status quo going for the past 80 years in a democracy, a form of governance that is subject to change every four years.
But, we’re not invincible. Much like the world economy and how terrible it was stirred due to the tariff debacle to the point where many world leaders decided it may not be so advantageous as to rely on the American dollar since now it has been proven that a single leader United States leader could jeopardize all of that – and be willing to do it longer than their country approves of.
Why would it be any different for our allies anywhere else in the world, notably those in the Pacific who will be at the forefront of combat if a war with China is allowed to break out.
A lot of the meeting felt like a Trump ‘third term plus presidency’ bid that he’s setting up as he is the only possible person to ‘maintain peace.’ What’s funny is that for a while, maybe even myself included, would say that acting like Trump’s third term stuff was a real concern would just call it a bunch of hullabaloo made to raise hairs on the back of any poor liberal’s neck. Unfortunately, the President himself said his team was looking into how it would be possible shortly after this.
Now if Trump was an actual peacemaker and he was a master at preventing wars and being able to stop them – I could see the argument whether or not I agreed with it, however he is doing a terrible job at it.
The war in Gaza restarted; Putin has since done everything to continue the war in Ukraine; the United States might actually go to war with Iran; and a war with China (among top US officials) is no longer a question of ‘if’ but a question of ‘when.’ It’s disturbing to ponder the implications of either.
After the White House press meeting, the actual minerals deal ‘meeting’ was called off. Trump hit the White House lawn shortly after calling out Zelenskyy for overplaying his hand, and stating that Putin was ready to end the war while Zelenskyy only wanted to prolong it. He was asked whether he told Zelenskyy to leave the White House and responded with “I don’t have to tell you that. I think you know the answer.”
Many conservative senators, representatives, and white house officials publicly announced their support for President Trump’s handling of the meeting, airing the opinion that America has been taken advantage of for too long.
Rubio even broke out of whatever grim trance he found himself in during the White House meeting for an interview with a CNN host about how Zelesnkyy didn’t say thank you today, which he should always be saying because as the president mentioned today “Trump gave javelins, Obama gave sheets.”
Meaning that Ukraine is deeply indebted to the American president…. Even though the President attempted to extort Ukraine into digging up dirt on the Biden campaign back in 2019 by withholding congressionally approved funds. It’s true.
It’s a petty state of affairs. The energy in the Oval Office felt more like a dirty locker room than any official office of a country that claims itself to be on top of the world. I think we’ve already started to see the world shift away from a U.S. centered world just from the first 100 days of the presidency.
Then again, I’m not sure if the president even wants us at the head of world affairs anymore. In the next article I’m going to cover deeper into the world’s reactions to, and the implications of the Oval Office meeting.