FLASH
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The American president set a trap in the White House and his Ukrainian counterpart walked right into it
Outside the hustle and bustle of real estate, Donald Trump became known to the American public as the billionaire judge of "The Apprentice," the television program where hiring or firing became a form of entertainment based on harassment, The Times writes.
On Friday, the US president (essentially) fired an ally, President Zelensky of Ukraine, for the “crime” of not quietly surrendering his country to Russian invaders. With a single action, Trump confirmed all the unspoken suspicions of the US’s European partners.
Both President Macron of France and Sir Keir Starmer, who visited the Oval Office before Zelensky this week, used flattery and mild criticism. But Trump had already denigrated Zelensky as a dictator (a key point of Kremlin propaganda). The Ukrainian leader was in the White House as a tolerated one: to sign off on the handover of Ukraine’s mineral wealth, not to demand security guarantees.
And Zelensky fell into the White House trap. Vice President JD Vance told Zelensky, who has led his country through three years of bloody war, that he was not showing enough respect for the US leader by questioning the minerals deal. According to Vance, it was Zelensky, not Putin, who was risking World War III.
Zelensky’s face seemed at odds with itself, his mouth hanging open as he struggled to comprehend the increasingly bizarre statements, his eyes alternately concerned and filled with disbelief. The only time he seemed relieved was when Trump was asked in a gentle tone about his “extraordinary moral clarity” and commitment to saving young lives in Europe. But even that question was accompanied by a jab at Zelensky: “This could very easily have been World War III.”
Zelensky was almost thrown out of the building in “The Apprentice” style, told he was not welcome until he was ready to discuss peace. There may have been a strategic purpose behind this display, perhaps to create a divide between Kiev’s European supporters and Zelensky.
In his circle, no one knew how the story would end. Would he resign, perhaps? It would be a logical response to an effective and public vote of no confidence from the leader of the Western world. And yet, it would also be an irresponsible act towards his country, which he has led and motivated for 36 months of war.
Whatever the White House's hidden agenda, the result resembled a drunken brawl, but without the alcohol. There have been similar outbursts in the past, with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev reportedly taking off his shoe at the United Nations and banging the table to get the world's attention.
Trump doesn’t need to make a scene or a public humiliation to get his message across. He already has the world’s attention, and what the world saw yesterday was a leader willing to crush his critics. Some say this will scare America’s enemies, the “Mad Man” theory that an unpredictable leader can make the best deals. Others will see a pattern that began a month ago with the threat to take Greenland and turn Canada into part of the United States. The rules are being broken every day./The Times
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