How does one put “Humpty Dumpty” back together again?
There was a disaster at the White House on Friday. The public spat that resulted in Donald Trump accusing the Ukrainian president of being “disrespectful” and “unwilling to pursue a negotiated peace" has further deepened the negative perceptions of the Ukrainian leader in Washington.
The event highlighted Trump’s long-standing skepticism toward Zelensky. Even before Trump was elected, he was saying that Zelensky is the “greatest salesman.” Each time he comes to the United States, he goes back with a few more billion”.
While there were clear divisions along partisan lines regarding the failed talks at the White House, the Ukrainian press offered essentially controlled, manufactured consent. DW shared this headline, “After the public row with Donald Trump, there is a lot of support for Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but also criticism. Some Ukrainians have started collecting money for a nuclear rearmament of their country.”
Ukraine is under martial law; thus, people cannot express themselves freely. Support will be mobilized locally by the government to uphold Zelensky’s “brave front” in standing up to President Trump and upholding the dignity of Ukraine. But, clearly the damage is quite severe. It is unlikely to be repaired easily. This negativity comes on top of already intense negative feelings that Trump and his team have for Zelensky.
Viral videos emerging from the Oval Office meeting on Friday, showed Ukraine’s ambassador appearing evidently shocked. The conversation became confrontational--negative and unpleasant. The diplomat had likely worked diligently to articulate Kiev’s position, only to have her efforts be for naught.
European leaders have predictably rallied behind Volodymyr Zelensky after Donald Trump's candid exchange with the Ukrainian president in the White House. The leaders of Germany, France, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands were among those who posted social media messages in support of the Ukrainian president -- with Zelensky responding directly to each one – thanking them for their support.
Yet, there are concerns with Europe’s stance on Ukraine: the Europeans are playing a losing game. Germany, for example, is facing a severe economic downturn. The UK is in a mess. France is deeply troubled economically. None of them are in a position to keep providing the kind of largesse to Ukraine as before. The EU is struggling to sustain its level of military aid without firm security guarantees from the US.
Trump has been openly critical of NATO’s role in the conflict. He is the only president who has overtly stated that he understands why the expansion of NATO is a threat to European security.
Ukraine is primarily significant in the broader geopolitical effort to weaken Russia. Beyond that, the narrative, “if Putin wins in Ukraine, he will attack Europe,” is just a tool (manufactured consent) to keep public opinion mobilized behind the political elite in Europe.
Zelensky has previously dismissed the possibility of stepping down as president. In an interview with Fox News following the meeting with Trump, Zelensky stated he will not do that unless asked by the Ukrainian people – his approval rating stands at roughly 52%.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) criticized Zelensky for arguing with President Trump and the vice president during the meeting Friday. The senator told reporters Kyiv’s leader should consider his political future.
“What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful, and I don’t know if we could ever do business with Zelensky again,” Graham said outside the White House after Trump canceled a scheduled joint press conference with Zelensky and ordered him out of the executive mansion.
“I think most Americans saw a guy that they would not want to go in business with, the way he handled the meeting,” the South Carolina Republican added, describing the Ukrainian’s approach as “just over the top.”
When asked if the Ukrainian president should resign, Graham answered: “He either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change.”
In the US Congress, we have “workhorses" and we have “show horses.” Lindsey Graham is a show horse. So, when you’ve lost Lindsey Graham, you’ve lost his confidence – you have lost the war. Graham's message to Vladimir Zelensky: it is time to just stop.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed in an interview with Bloomberg Friday afternoon that the Oval Office meeting was scheduled expressly to show “there was no daylight between the Americans and the Ukrainians.” It was supposed to demonstrate US solidarity with Ukraine.
“To show that we’re more intertwined,” Bessent explained, “that would be a symbol to the Ukrainian people, to Russian leadership and to the American people — and President Zelensky blew that up today.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that Volodymyr Zelensky had previously refused a minerals deal twice with the US before the ill-fated Oval Office showdown with President Trump.
The proposed agreement, now seemingly on ice, would have exchanged billions of dollars in US aid funding for rare earths and other resources from Ukraine. Trump’s Treasury secretary also revealed that Zelensky separately refused to close the deal with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“This has to be one of the greatest diplomatic mishaps of all time by President Zelensky,” Bessent said on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remained defiant in the hours after the tense public confrontation with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office, saying he does not owe the US president an apology.
Coming back from the above statement, driven by obviously intense feelings on both sides and now with the backing of his European supporters, how does one put “Humpty Dumpty” back together again?
Read next: President Trump Responds to Zelenskyy Restarting Attacks Against Russian Refineries
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