‘Be very, very afraid’: Donald Trump accidentally reveals his Ukraine plan during Zelensky clash

Donald Trump’s treatment of Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House stunned the world – but one subtle but key moment was truly scary.

OPINION

In the 80s, WWE’s Vince McMahon took over his father’s circus-y wrestling league and made it into a billion-dollar, global business.

It’s simple: People like biff. They want to see two puffed-up blokes full of braggadocio and back alley ‘roids taking swings at each other.

So here’s a hot tip for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – next time he’s off to Washington, he should brush up on some WWE history if he wants to ever get one over commander-in-beef Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

The world was, quite simply, aghast and sickened – and continues to be freaked the hell out – after having watched these supposed Republican leading lights sinking their fake-capped incisors into Mr Zelensky during their recent Oval Office meeting.

The Ukrainian leader was there to sign a mineral rights deal; Mr Trump and Mr Vance were there to bludgeon and bully him for having forced Vladimir Putin into invading. After all, what had the Donbas region been wearing at the time?

But look past the horror show of it all, and what Mr Trump and Mr Vance have both just done is accidentally reveal their hands, betraying what they really want with the subtlety of a couple of card-counters in Reno who keep dropping the ace of spades.

This moment was not about lithium or Russia or preventing World War Three or even Mr Trump getting to put on his big boy statesman pants and strut about a bit for the cameras.

It was only ever about the one thing.

Mr Trump genuinely, to the bottom of his heart, deeply, ardently, passionately cares about …“ratings”.

(Along with, in no particular order, money, money, Ivanka, the McRib, his golf handicap, money, and getting to show off to Victor Orbán by mashing his Oval Office Diet Coke button).

Mr Trump and Mr Vance have accidentally revealed their hands. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP

This raison d’ratings is the assessment of writer Michael Wolff, who has just published his latest Trumpian magnum exposé, All Or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America, according to The Rest Is Politics podcast host Alastair Campbell.

Mr Wolff’s read, per Mr Campbell, is that Mr Trump is “not a serious person. He’s a reality TV guy. All he cares about … are ratings and conflict. And he knows that to drive his ratings and keep him in the public eye and [to] get all the attention he needs, he has to have conflict”.

Or to put it another way, he’s less Roosevelt and more Real Housewives; he is not angling to be the next Henry Kissinger or Kofi Annan, but the Kris Jenner of a nuclear superpower.

That Oval Office scene was never going to be a nice bit of posing and hand shaking, because Mr Trump knows that slugfests make for good viewing. Like Netflix, he knows that an eyeball is an eyeball is an eyeball.

The scene he stage-managed was only ever going to juice up his base and horrify and repulse the rest of the world.

The American leaders humiliated Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. Picture: Nicolas Tucat/AFP

There were only two ways that the Oval Office meeting was ever going to play out: Mr Trump peacocking out of the room, gloat oozing from his pores, having arm-wrestled Mr Zelensky into ponying up the country’s rare earth mineral rights. (In return, the US would provide a vague security guarantee sans specifics).

Or, if Mr Zelensky even demurred for a second, Mr Trump would get the opportunity to stage the global diplomatic version of a two-against-one, behind-the-bike-sheds bit of bully boy brawling, glorying in giving his base the tasty spectacle of Mr Zelensky being forced to endure a definitely-not-pre-planned on-camera assault.

The President was only ever going to schlump out of there having gotten his grubby hands all over Ukraine’s lithium, or having delivered a few knockout punches and meme-able clips that his loyalists will hungrily hoover up of himself strutting his brattish, bruiser stuff.

Or in other words, he got to do a Chokeslam.

More than 622 children have been killed since the war began. Picture: Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP

Wolff’s interpretation cuts to the very quick of Trump Two, that he is not fundamentally motivated by steamrollering through any of the agenda he promised during the campaign.

Instead, he wants to keep his “viewers” hooked on his entirely manufactured political stunts, like talking about making Canada the 51st state and buying Greenland.

If that explains ringmaster, PT Barnum-ish Trump, what of Bearded Lady Mr Vance?

If there is one takeaway from watching the spectacle of the Vice President being sicced onto Mr Zelensky by a proud Mr Trump, it is this: be afraid.

Be very, very afraid.

The only reason that Joe Biden got a presidency at all is because of Trump One Veep, Mike Pence.

Former US Vice President Mike Pence finally stood up to Mr Trump when he certified the 2020 election results. Picture: Ryan M. Kelly/AFP

The vice president has little real power besides babysitting the Senate through interminable filibusters and getting to open the occasional Iowa state fair. (Nothing says “seated at the right hand of power” like having to attend a hog roast).

Then came January 6, 2021 when Mr Pence – in a singular, one-off display of integrity – stood up to Mr Trump and the swarming, violent mob he had merrily stoked, and certified the 2020 election results.

I suppose a lawless horde happily chanting about how much they want to hang you can really give a man pause.

Mr Pence’s brief flirtation with doing the right thing and not just swearing blind fealty to insurrection’s number one fan Mr Trump dealt a fatal blow to their relationship.

The only way the ultraconservative was getting anywhere near the 2024 ticket was if he bought himself one and stumped up a deposit.

What Mr Vance has just clearly demonstrated in the Oval Office is that Mr Trump never has to worry about his new Veep ever getting the ethical collywobbles and suffering from a brief crisis of morality.

The January 6, 2021 insurrection was a dark stain on America’s history. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP

Mr Vance is more than happy – and is in fact giddily revelling in – doing the dirty work his boss might need him to do.

It was also a bit of a buy one, get one free for Mr Vance.

Having long been an opponent of US involvement in Ukraine, he got to indulge in humiliating Mr Zelensky on camera while also getting to bat extraordinary, potentially-mascara-ed eyelashes at Mr Trump, while demonstrating his unwavering devotion and lap dog-ishness to the President.

It all comes down to this: While Mr Trump and Mr Vance play for the cameras, Ukrainians suffer and die.

According to the UN human rights office, more than 622 children have been killed since the war began.

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Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and a commentator with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles

Originally published as ‘Be very, very afraid’: Donald Trump accidentally reveals his Ukraine plan during Zelensky clash