The first 23 minutes worked well enough. This is a careful discussion between the US president and foreign leaders. Their differences then began to air unmistakably and unmistakably. Then, 39 minutes later, it really fell off the rail.
An oral brawl at the Oval Office between President Trump and Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky on Friday led to Washington, Europe, infuriating Kiev and delighting Moscow. By the end, the Ukrainian ambassador to Washington was holding his head in her hand, disappointed.
However, what appeared to have actually reached under Trump's skin during the debate-turned-donybrook was Zelensky's harsh words about Russian President Vladimir V. Putin. Trump, who could only say what he had to say about the Kremlin Master, offended him on his behalf, and oldened Zelensky with hostility towards the man who invaded his country.
“He hates us,” Zelensky told Trump, trying to explain that Putin was an invader, not a victim. “That's not about me. He hates Ukrainians. He thinks we're not a country.” Last week, Trump mistakenly said Ukraine had “started” the war, but Zelensky made it clear that the president was doing that wrong. “President Putin has begun this war,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Trump disagreed and chideed Zelensky as being mean. “It's great to talk badly about someone else,” said Trump, who corned in his voice. “But I want to solve that.”
Last week, Trump, known to speak horribly about many others Elles, including Zelensky, whom he called “dictator,” gave no sympathy for Ukrainian views.
“This is not a love match,” he said. “This is why you're in this situation.”
After a while, Zelensky again cited Putin's role in the war, suggesting that Trump was listening too much of the Russian leader. In response to Trump's comments that Ukrainian cities have been destroyed, Zelensky said no, they survived despite Russian artillery fire.
“Maybe it's Putin who shares this disinformation that he destroyed us,” Zelensky said.
Trump has come to defend Putin. “He had to suffer through the Russian hoax,” he said. He mentioned an investigation into Russian interference during his first term on behalf of Trump during the 2016 election. “He wants to make a deal and sees the end.”
In fact, the investigation by special advisor Robert S. Mueller III was not a hoax, and clearly concluded that Putin ordered the Intelligence Reports agency eight years ago to direct the election to Trump. In his final 2019 report, Mueller said “the evidence is not sufficient to support criminal charges,” but revealed that Trump's campaign has benefited from Russia's support.
The Oval Office Meeting on Friday quickly regressed to a virtual showdown as Vice President JD Vance distributing all forms and accused Zelensky of being “disrespectful” by providing the views of the war in Ukraine and the presence of a news camera necessary for peace in the oval office. From there, Vance and Trump slammed Zelensky for not appreciating him.
In the past decades, at least the President has never engaged in such a poignant attack of rage on foreign leaders visiting an oval office. Their argument culminated in the threat that if Trump, whom Zelensky brokered with Russia, did not accept, the US would abandon Ukraine. Fracus led Trump to drive Zelensky out of the White House. The split has improved plans to sign a deal that grants the US rights to Ukrainian rare minerals, a concession Trump demanded for help in the war.
Trump often shows his anger in public, particularly in rallies and interviews, in ways other presidents rarely do. The other day he snapped the Governor of Maine about transgender athletes. However, he never appeared to be fighting so furiously with foreign visitors, especially his allies presumed to be in the midst of a war for the survival of his country.
The closest analogy may be that he had several meetings with Congressional Democrats in his first term when he argued with then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer, a Democratic majority leader. In fact, one of them, Pelosi stood famous, pointing his finger at him and snapping, “All paths lead to Putin with you.”
Still, the meeting was not on camera, and these sessions didn't explode like this at all.
Certainly, Zelensky is not necessarily a diplomat. He often irritated President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his team. He similarly said that the Ukrainians continued to push them for more weapons, without fully appreciating what they did.
Zelensky leads counterparts like French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer, playing with the volatile Trump ego, like he did at the White House this week, and has not been blown away repeatedly to minimize differences. Even before the full-scale invasion in 2022, Zelensky, who leads a country that has been under attack for 11 years, has little patience or instinct for diplomatic elegance.
But what was particularly impressive about their exchange was that Trump appears to have been humiliated on Putin's behalf. He has long been an open admiration for Putin and rarely provided criticism of his own. Just this week he called Putin “smart” and “unning” and refused to call him a dictator, even after calling Zelensky.
“I want to say something really bad about Putin and then say, 'Hello, Vladimir, what are we doing about the deal?'” Trump told Zelensky on Friday. “It doesn't work that way.”
He did not explain whether it was okay to say bad things to Mr Zelensky while pursuing the deal. Instead, he portrayed the Ukrainian leader as unfairly distrustful of Putin.
“You see the hatred he has for Putin,” Trump said in a digging tone as cameras recorded the exchange. “It's very difficult for me to make a deal with such hatred. He has incredible hatred. And I understand that. But the other side who isn't in love with him can tell you either.”
He returned to the Russian investigation with Putin near the end of the session, explaining the Russian leader as if he had linked him with a shared ordeal. “Putin went through a lot of hell with me,” Trump said. “He went through a false witch hunt, where he used him, Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia.”
The humiliation of Putin seemed to be sticking to Trump. By evening, hours after throwing Zelensky from the White House, Trump had left Florida over the weekend to talk to reporters, and once again outlined his complaints with the Ukrainian president.
“He has to say, 'I want to create peace,'” Trump said. “He doesn't have to stand there and say, 'Putin, Putin, Putin, Putin.' He has to say, “I want to create peace.” ”
