It’s really hard to think how this could’ve possibly gone worse. The whole thing started with Zelensky’s offhand suggestion of trading Ukrainian minerals for US aid which backfired catastrophically. Trump, ever the opportunist, seized on the proposal like a shark scenting blood. He initially framed it as Ukraine having to hand over minerals for future support, which he quickly turned into a demand for repayment of the $300 billion already spent, retroactively recasting aid as a loan.
By floating the minerals idea, Zelensky handed Trump a rhetorical weapon that let Trump box Ukraine into a lose-lose scenario of either surrendering resources or admitting to owing an unpayable debt. Zelensky got accustomed to Biden’s blank-check diplomacy, and completely misread the room here. Now, Trump has the perfect excuse to cut Ukraine loose. He will say that Zelensky lied about his willingness to make a deal, that he doesn’t appreciate US support, and that he was belligerent. The whole thing is an absolute debacle for Ukraine.
I don’t see the need for the song and dance when he can pay 10k to a Turkmenistan mercenary or Ukrainian nazi to just Luigi him
Honestly after the way Zelensky got humiliated here, he should ask Putin to let Ukraine join the Russian Federation. It would spite Trump, it’d be funny as fuck, and Ukraine would probably get better treatment from Russia than it would under the US vultures at thos point.
that would be the most hilarious outcome
I love the Ukrainian embassador’s face.
This was literally me as I was watching. I couldn’t help but keep cringing, sometimes I had to physically look away.
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🤡🤡🤡
JFC that’s cringe. It really lays bare how it’s just failsons all over.
lmao these guys are so ridiculously incompetent, this discussion is so petty lmao
If it weren’t for TV, neither of these guys would ever have been politicians at all, never mind presidents. Pure spectacle.
Absolute. Fucking. Scenes. Lmaoooooo
In all seriousness, I finally watched the exchange and WOW the secondhand embarrassment I felt was strong. I had to watch this in 1.5x speed because it was so bad. I don’t think I’ve witnessed a more uncomfortable and unproductive conversation in my life. I had no faith in Trump, or Vance, to have a proper conversation about ending the war but this was worse than I expected. None of these people know what diplomacy is, also Vance lecturing Zelenskyy for a “thank you”, like he’s a child, was hard to watch and so stupid.
Why is that conversation even being filmed & broadcast, other than to publicly flog a vassal? This is unpresidented!
It’s like a family arguing about politics with the shit analysis that comes with it, but in the oval office.
yea straight up sitcom dialogue 😂
I really, really hope that it’ll speed up the US dumping Ukraine.
I know the whole thing about Trump being a narcissist is kind of surface level problems with the US, but I rarely actually sit through listening to him speak and it’s striking how on the nose the characteristics are. It seems clear he wants to humiliate the guy in front of a large audience and make him kiss the ring, and that’s why it’s not a private meeting. Though in actuality, to me, it humiliates everyone involved in the discussion; they all come out looking ridiculous in various ways. It’s like one of those internet arguments that feels important to the people involved in the moment, but just looks like petty noise from the outside.
What’s that quote about wrestling a pig in the mud?
I think that mess was intentional plan by trump. trump said something to the effect of “its good we did this in front of the cameras because the American people need to see what I have to deal with”
I don’t think it was about humiliation so much as trying to undo years of propaganda. Showing people that zelenski isn’t the kind of heroic brave man the media made him out to be.
Zelenski came out of that looking weak, belligerent, and ungrateful. But Trump just came out of that looking like trump.
weird, to me zelensky came out as courageous (tho dumb and unreasonable) while both vance and trump came out as wimps. Zelensky is after all raising his voice at his enablers.
“mr zelensky youre being disrespectful!” Lmao just come on, its your home turf and he is your subject, why do you say it like that 😂
Vance definitely came out of it looking like a debate bro and a loser.
yeah right?
I don’t think it was about humiliation so much as trying to undo years of propaganda.
Yup. This is what i suspect was the intention all along. Trump now has the perfect excuse to distance himself from the Ukraine debacle.
I see Trump using this to push for “elections.” I imagine there will be silence on that topic from Russia while they and the us figure out who the next president will be behind closed doors.
I don’t think anyone has told zelenski “call elections or we will kill you” yet but that message is coming soon.
For a long while now, the U.S./UkraNazi far-right have supposedly been contemplating assassinating Zelenskyy.
Unfortunately i think that is a more likely scenario than elections.
Putin and the Russian government aren’t stupid. While they could be better, I put them almost up there with China in terms of long-term planning, common sense, reasoning, and sharp historical memory. They 99.99 percent won’t accept a fake ceasefire. Only a quality one, at least.
Maybe. I still think elections in Ukraine while the war is ongoing are unlikely. My feeling is that the Europeans will try to prevent an election at all costs because they’ve invested too much in Zelensky… but who knows at this point. I never expected this meeting to go as bad as it did either. We’re living in interesting times…
Holy fuck what a shitshow that was. Why do they even let this clown speak in public anymore? Every time he opens his mouth things get worse for Ukraine. If his handlers had any brains they would only ever let him read off scripts in front of a green screen.
I accidentally responded to ur comment instead of the post oops
Is Macron secretly working for Putin? Because otherwise insisting on this meeting was the own goal of the century
