Trump’s smackdown of Volodymyr Zelensky as an ungrateful, demanding and clueless visitor was stunning as it was unprecedented. Never has a foreign leader been so berated by a US president in public. The third degree-if it must be used-is administered behind closed doors, especially among friends and allies.
Democrats are enraged. They say Trump has embarrassed America on the world stage and emboldened Vladimir Putin by humiliating Zelensky. While the Dems have always accused Trump of multiple sins and calumnies, his attempt to end the war has rattled them. They made no serious effort to do the same under Joe Biden.
The fact that Trump doesn’t seem to distrust, or viscerally dislike Putin-a necessary requirement for your acceptance in the right circles-is further cause for concern. Russia is, and will always be, America’s enemy. They see Zelensky’s treatment as proof of Trump’s perfidy.
Remarkable as it is, the DC establishment is unmoved by Trump’s efforts to make peace. Esteemed members are happy to fight to the last Ukrainian, cheer from a distance and talk about ‘principles’ and ‘democracy’. It doesn’t matter if the American taxpayer no longer wants to foot the bill, they are sticking to the script down to the last talking point dutifully delivered to your email.
Problem is Zelensky is unlikely to recover from the coup de grace. Calls for his resignation from Trump whisperers began almost as soon as Ukraine’s wartime president was unceremoniously shown the door. He left empty-handed with no lunch, no deal, no security guarantees and no goodbyes at the door.Although fellow European leaders promptly came out in support of the battered president, the question is what can/will they do in concrete terms without US backing. Short answer: not much. And they know that.That’s why Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer had come calling earlier in the week. They had laid the groundwork, played nice and urged continued support for Ukraine and Nato. Their goal was to keep Trump engaged. But Zelensky’s self-goal has complicated things.
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte told Zelensky to mend relations with Trump and key officials and get back on track. ‘Can he?’ is a million-dollar question. A bigger one is what was the Ukrainian president thinking when he decided that confrontation was the better part of valour, despite all the advice from Congressional Republicans to play it cool?
He talked over the US president, questioned veep JD Vance’s bona fides, proceeded to deliver a history lesson, and warned his host that the war could come to him one day. It was an excruciating exercise in the ‘Don’ts of Diplomacy’, especially in Trump’s world.
Did he mistake Trump for Joe Biden-who, incidentally, also grumbled about Zelensky’s attitude and his sense of entitlement, but didn’t threaten abandonment as Trump did? Did Vance ambush the visitor to mark his presence as Trump’s brawler-in-chief as Dems have suggested? Not really.
An objective viewing of the full 50-min episode with no pre-existing biases doesn’t show a planned attack. Instead, it shows a build-up of Zelensky’s frustration. Besides, why would Vance deliberately jeopardise the very deal Trump wanted to sign?
Everything went rather well in the first 40 mins-Trump welcomed Zelensky with warm words, joked about his attire, praised the bravery of Ukrainians, articulated support for Nato, talked up the mineral-rights deal as a security guarantee, and even seemed amenable to the idea of a peacekeeping force. The atmospherics were fine, given recent jibes by both sides.
Then came Zelensky’s intervention wrapped in an attempt to educate his interlocutors on the chronology of Putin’s sins. He questioned Vance’s right to speak on Ukraine’s plight because the VP hasn’t visited the country. It was the match that lit the fire. Trump was triggered, and there was no coming back. Things fell apart.
The trans-Atlantic alliance lies fractured in the aftermath. France, Germany and others are talking seriously about taking more responsibility for European security. An aatmanirbhar Europe would be a good idea.
But how? It will take years to establish a credible military capability/deterrence independent of the US. The EU’s combined defence budget last year was $457 bn, compared to $968 bn for the US. Russia had a larger budget at $462 bn when adjusted for purchasing power parity.
Just do the math.
