The Don, Volodya & Vlad Show

As Trump said, the meeting was great TV.

There was a crowd in the room at the meeting in the White House with President Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It was diplomatically nice-nice until the fireworks broke out. 

I’ve been around a long time and I can’t recall when world leaders revealed what they were actually thinking in a public meeting. It’s like those cartoon speech balloons where in one bubble they say one thing but another balloon emanating from their heads shows what they are really thinking. In this case the thought bubble merged into the speech bubble.

I watched the meeting four times. In addition to Trump and Zelenskyy there were lots of aides and reporters in the room. Reporters were able to ask questions, pointed questions. That’s when things broke down and Trump, Zelenskyy, and Vance started arguing. In some ways the shadow of Vladimir Putin was there.

The scene was supposed to be nice, a triumph for Trump. Trump came up with the idea that if we are going to give them military support we should get something in return. “Hey, let’s grab their rare earth minerals.” Trump as we know only sees things transactionally. So do all countries, but his quid pro quo wasn’t about foreign policy goals but rather getting tangible stuff. He likes to win.

OK, I get it. Trump trashed Ukraine and U.S. support during his campaign. Now that he is president he needs cover (a mineral deal) to walk back his earlier campaign ramblings. 

Whatever Trump’s view of Putin and Ukraine is, we know he wants to be revered as a leader and peacemaker among Great Powers. Especially so since he is the leader of the greatest power of the Great Powers. We also know he craves attention and approval. And, because he suffers from narcissistic personality disorder (formerly known as megalomania), he does think he’s the smartest guy on the planet and can handle Putin and save what’s left of Ukraine. We’ll see.

He has one overriding fear though. The one thing he doesn’t want to happen is to be the president that “lost” Ukraine to Putin. Rolling over to Putin shows weakness which is bad for one’s legacy. 

The meeting, however, was shocking and shameful. On both sides. 

I am a fan of Zelenskyy, a brave and capable wartime president who lives with the war every day and night of his life. I think he’s done well for his country. But he isn’t perfect. Because he’s been in the trenches for the past very difficult three years he forgot to be a diplomat and politician at the meeting. Lindsey Graham told Zelenskyy before the meeting to not bait Trump. Apparently, Zelenskyy wasn’t listening.

On the other hand, Trump has been a skillful politician but not a diplomat. His bluntness and self-aggrandizement have never been associated with diplomacy. I see him as a one-dimensional person. 

You put those two together and pow! 

I put much of the blame on Zelenskyy. Every foreign leader knows what Trump is and he was so warned going into the meeting. Zelenskyy’s goal was to get our support. Signing over minerals was theater. By the time the war ends and we come for the minerals the deal will be renegotiated anyway. Sign the damn agreement say “thank you America and Donald Trump” over and over and walk away. Trump will be happy and you’ll get money, arms, and support. It’s a start. Instead he lost sight of the big picture and got into an argument with Trump. You don’t argue and demand more now. As Trump said, “You don’t have the cards.”

Putin has a messianic vision to restore Imperial Russia and he’s sacrificing his youth to do it. His invasion of Ukraine destabilizes a world of powerful and dangerous heavily armed nations. World War II proved that dictators have to be stopped at the beginning. Since 1945 NATO and other defense treaties have done a pretty good job of avoiding calamity. Ukraine needs us, Europe needs us, and NATO needs us. A destabilized world is a riskier world. Ukraine must win this war.

Volodymyr, let the dust settle, rethink the goal, swallow hard and apologize, and sign over the minerals. More U.S. and EU military and monetary support will eventually bring Vlad to the table and the war will end. You don’t trust Putin but what’s your option other than to trust us?