Trump – Zelensky Diplomatic Mayhem

On Friday the world witnessed live the most dramatic public diplomacy session ever. The stage is the Oval office of the Whitehouse, the seat of power in the United States. US President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine were the main characters. The US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio played supportive roles to Trump. The world was made to believe that the theme was a ceremony for Zelensky to sign a ceasefire deal that would signal the end of the devastating war between Ukraine and Russia.

JD VANCE’S DISRUPTIVE INTERJECTIONS
It didn’t take long before before Trump and Vance turned the discourse into a Zelensky bullying monologue characterized by outrageous misrepresentations, outright lies, finger pointing and threats against President Zelensky. For example, President Trump said that Ukraine has so far received $350 million from the United States whereas the truth is that Ukraine has received about $119 million from the US, 60% of which was in form of weapons. President Zelensky’s numerous attempts to express himself and put the record straight were drowned with arrogant interjections, baseless accusations and obnoxious diversionary questions. JD Vance accused Zelensky of not thanking Trump enough and having supported opposition in the last elections while Trump accused him of disrespecting the US and refusing to end the war. Vance’s arrogant conduct will for a long time remain a stain to an otherwise promising political career.

PUTIN’S TALKING POINTS
Vance was empathetic that Zelensky had disrespected President Trump in front of American media. However it is emerging that the meeting was a carefully orchestrated ambush to embarrass Zelensky, a war time leader who Trump has previously referred to as a dictator. Trump has further blamed Ukraine for starting the war against what everyone in the world knows. Trump and Vance recited Russia’s talking points as they took turns in hectoring on Zelensky. They shouted how Ukraine has lost soldiers, how its towns and people have been devastated, how morale is low in Ukraine and heaped blame for that on Zelensky. It is like the Trump-Vance script was written by Vladimir Putin himself. Many are wondering whether Trump would get the guts to treat Putin with such condescending manner. Maybe Putin had demanded Zelensky’s head in a diplomatic calabash. He got it.

HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY
In between the conundrum, it emerged that Trump was playing hostage diplomacy by trying to force Zelensky to sign off his country’s mineral wealth to USA so that Trump can restrain Putin. Trump’s wrath was partly because Zelensky demanded security guarantees stopping Putin from repeating his aggression in the future. On the other hand, Trump believes Putin fear of him is security guarantee in itself. By his own admission, Trump collapsed the deal because Zelensky referred to Putin in not so flattery terms. Incredibly, President Zelensky defended his country with bravery and stoicism throughout the patronizing dress down. Consequently, Zelensky returns home as a hero who has refused to betray his country even in the heat of bullying by the most powerful man on earth. His message is….if your help must be accompanied by disrespect, keep it.

Donald Trump is that attention-seeking guy who orders drinks for you in a bar expecting unquestionable frailty. The moment you show signs of independent thinking, he orders the waiter to remove your drinks from his bill amid roars that everyone should pay for themselves.

PUTIN REHABILITATION CEREMONY
Many people, including myself were elated by Trump’s political comeback. The previous Biden regime had demonstrated appalling lack of moral clarity on the global stage and lost touch with American people as it embraced woke programs at the expense of people’s real needs. Betrayal of Israel and the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan are examples of Biden’s failures. Yet, the Oval Office spectacle has confirmed Trump as a man of razor thin skin, giant ego and little geopolitical experience. By parading Zelensky for public mudslinging (on behalf of Putin), Donald Trump has tossed the 80-year-old NATO defense pact into the rubbish trash. Thus putting the US-EU relationship in unprecedented jeopardy. Putin is opening champagne bottles while China is more emboldened in its intention to invade Taiwan. It was not just another apprentice episode, it came out as a Putin rehabilitation ceremony. This singular episode could mark a significant erosion of Trump’s support and influence both at home and abroad. Unfortunately, Trump boastfully says that the show will make good TV!

EU RE-AFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE
Fortunately, European leaders have unanimously expressed outrage against the mishandling of Zelensky and in one accord reaffirmed support for Ukraine going forward. The words of Henry Kissinger, a former US secretary of state, that “being a US enemy is very dangerous, but being a US friend is fatal” are not lost on the community of nations. Disrespect to other leaders and betrayal of allies portrays America as an unreliable partner and therefore weakens America’s diplomatic soft power in the world. It’s a wake up call for Europe to put its act in order.