A television star who is also a president visits another president, who is much more powerful, on a stage to try introducing a plot twist. What could go wrong?
The recent meeting between the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and US president Donald Trump has been considered a setback to Trump’s goal of establishing a peace deal and a victory for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, according to some US political commentators.
Others in the US, particularly those aligned with Trump, see his meeting with Zelenskyy as a success for his “America first” policies. However, the conservative-leaning Wall Street Journal editorial board has criticized this stance, arguing that the US’ goals of stopping Russian expansion without deploying US forces are now more difficult to achieve. They also warn that abandoning Ukraine to Putin would have catastrophic consequences for both Ukraine and Europe, and would also be politically disastrous for Trump.
The Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy appears to indicate Trump’s determination to abandon America’s traditional sources of power in favor of an era of raw negotiations between great powers. This has led to the destruction of the three-year wartime partnership between Washington and Kyiv. Conservative political figures have also criticized Trump and Mike Vance’s handling of the meeting.
The outcome of the diplomatic relations between Ukraine and the US remains uncertain. However, the dispute highlights the risks of conducting diplomacy in public, as Trump, a former reality TV host, believed that his confrontation with Zelenskyy, an ex-actor, made for “great television.” The US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, revealed that his earlier meeting with Zelenskyy also resulted in a similar outburst.
Zelenskyy was eventually asked to leave the White House by the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, after Ukrainian representatives indicated their readiness to sign an agreed economic deal. The White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Stephen Miller, defended Trump’s actions, describing the confrontation as “one of the great moments in the history of American diplomacy.” However, foreign policy analyst Ravi Agrawal criticized Zelenskyy for getting “the script wrong” and failing to represent his position as well as a politician used to being in the public eye.
In a recent interview, Zelenskyy expressed his respect for Trump and the American people, hoping for strong relations between the two countries. European leaders have also expressed their support for Zelenskyy, with French President Emmanuel Macron stating that if someone is gambling with the threat of World War III, it is Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/01/media-politicians-react-trump-zelenskyy
