Toward the end of his on-camera, Oval Office brawl with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, President Trump quipped that it was “great television.” He’s right about that. But the point of the meeting was supposed to be progress toward an honourable peace for Ukraine, and in the event the winner was Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
“He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office,” Mr Trump wrote on social media on Friday afternoon after the exchange, while booting the Ukrainian president from the White House. “He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
The two didn’t sign a planned agreement on minerals that would have at least given Ukraine some hope of future US support. The meeting between Messrs. Trump and Zelensky started out smoothly enough. “It’s a big commitment from the United States, and we appreciate working with you very much, and we will continue to do that,” Mr Trump said of the mineral deal. Mr Zelensky showed photos of Ukrainians mistreated as prisoners of war. “That’s tough stuff,” Mr Trump said.
But then the meeting, in front of the world, descended into recriminations. The nose dive began with an odd interjection from Vice President JD Vance, who appeared to be defending Mr Trump’s diplomacy, which Mr Zelensky hadn’t challenged. Mr Zelensky rehearsed the many peace agreements Mr Putin has shredded and essentially asked Mr Vance what would be different this time.
Mr Vance unloaded on Mr Zelensky – that he was “disrespectful,” low on manpower, and gives visitors to Ukraine a “propaganda” tour. President Trump appeared piqued by Mr Zelensky’s suggestion that the outcome in Ukraine would matter to the US “Your country is in big trouble. You’re not winning,” Mr Trump said at one point.
Why did the Vice President try to provoke a public fight? Mr Vance has been taking to his X.com account in what appears to be an effort to soften up the political ground for a Ukraine surrender, most recently writing off Mr Putin’s brutal invasion as a mere ethnic rivalry. Mr Vance dressed down Mr Zelensky as if he were a child late for dinner. He claimed the Ukrainian hadn’t been grateful enough for US aid, though he has thanked America countless times for its support. This was not the behaviour of a wannabe statesman.
Mr Zelensky would have been wiser to defuse the tension by thanking the US again, and deferring to Mr Trump. There’s little benefit in trying to correct the historical record in front of Mr Trump when you’re also seeking his help.
But as with the war, Mr Zelensky didn’t start this Oval Office exchange. Was he supposed to tolerate an extended public denigration of the Ukrainian people, who have been fighting a war for survival for three years?
It is bewildering to see Mr Trump’s allies defending this debacle as some show of American strength. The US interest in Ukraine is shutting down Mr Putin’s imperial project of reassembling a lost Soviet empire without US soldiers ever having to fire a shot. That core interest hasn’t changed, but berating Ukraine in front of the entire world will make it harder to achieve.
Turning Ukraine over to Mr Putin would be catastrophic for that country and Europe, but it would be a political calamity for Mr Trump too. The US President can’t simply walk away from that conflict, much as he would like to. Ukraine has enough weapons support to last until sometime this summer. But as the war stands, Mr Putin sees little reason to make any concessions as his forces gain ground inch by bloody inch in Ukraine’s east.
Friday’s spectacle won’t make him any more willing to stop his onslaught as he sees the US President and his eager deputy unload on Ukraine’s leader. Some Trumpologists have been suggesting Mr Trump will put pressure on Mr Putin in due time. But so far Mr Putin hasn’t made a single concession on territory, or on Ukraine’s ability to defend itself in the future after a peace deal is signed.
President Trump no doubt resents having to deal with a war he thinks he might have prevented had he won in 2020. But presidents have to deal with the world they inherit. Peace in Ukraine is salvageable, but he and Mr Zelensky will have to work together on an agreement that Ukrainians can live with.
Mr Trump does not want to be the President who abandoned Ukraine to Vladimir Putin with all the bloodshed and damage to US interests that would result. Mr Vance won’t like to run for President in such a world either.
Dow Jones Newswires
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