LOS ANGELES.–President Donald Trump, 78, suspended military aid to Ukraine after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that it would be a long time before the war ended. Trump hosted Zelensky in a Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting to sign a rare earth mineral deal only to find Zelensky fighting with Trump and 40-year-old Vice President J.D. Vance over security arrangements for Ukraine. Trump isn’t inclined to provide any security arrangements to Ukraine, saying that’s up to the European Union, if they wish to step in to guarantee that Russian doesn’t start the war again. But what really irked Trump and Vance was Zelensky’s sales pitch telling them that if Ukraine loses the war to the Kremlin, the U.S. would have hell to pay later. That was the exact same talking point used by 82-year-old former President Joe Biden to justify the war that Russia would take over Europe.
Zelensky clearly lost control of himself in the meeting with Trump and Vance, prompting Trump to end the meeting, asking him to leave the White House. Trump said Zelensky was welcome to come back when he’s ready for peace. Zelensky went ballistic because Trump has made peace overtures to 72-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin, asking himself what kind of ally is the United States if it’s making peace with his archenemy? Zelensky understands little about U.S. past foreign policy since the end of WW II where every president, except Biden, tried to improve diplomacy, détente and arms control with Moscow. Biden was the first-and-only U.S. president to actually fund proxy war with the Kremlin, arming Ukraine to the teeth over the Kremlin’s objections. Chinese President Xi Jinping said Biden’s arming of Ukraine led to Putin Feb. 24, 2022 invasion.
Zelensky had a nervous breakdown with Trump and Vance, knowing he wasn’t coddled like other European Leaders that like to blame Putin for the war. “An agreement on ending the war is very, very far away,” Zelensky said, repudiating all the work Trump has done to end the war with Putin. Zelensky thinks he can balk at peace talks until he gets what he wants, including his sovereign land back in any negotiation. “It was the lack of security guarantees for Ukraine 11 years ago that allowed Russia to star with the occupation of Crimea and war in Donbas, the then the lack of security guarantees allowed Russia to launch a full-scale invasion,” Zelensky said completly distorting history. Putin invaded Crimea March 1, 2014 after a Feb. 22, 2014 CIA-backed coup toppled the Kremlin-backed Kiev government of Viktor Yanukovych in what’s known as the Maiden Revolution.
Zelensky expects the U.S. to provide security guarantees because Trump ruled out Ukraine joining NATO. NATO’s former Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg ruled out NATO membership because Ukraine did not meet entry requirements, including a stable democracy, fiscal solvency and no current war. Yet Zelensky continues to ask for NATO membership using it as a smokescreen until recently. Zelensky said he’s be willing to step down as Ukraine President if NATO accepted Ukraine for membership. But if you think about, it’s entirely disingenuous because Ukraine doesn’t qualify. Zelensky blames Trump for saying that a peace deal would not involvement NATO membership, largely because it wouldn’t be accepted by Putin. Zelensky’s explanation for why Putin invaded Crimea March 1, 2014 is completely twisted, saying he didn’t have security guarantees.
Zelensky wants the U.S. to “backstop” security guarantees so he can push the limit with the Kremlin and suck the U.S. into a direct conflict with the Moscow. Asking the U.S. for security guarantees is the equivalent of NATO membership, looking for the U.S. military to fight Ukraine’s battles with its Moscow enemy. When Zelensky realized that Trump actually wants normal diplomatic relations with the Kremlin, he went ballistic in his Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting. Only a few EU countries like Hungary and Poland admit that Zelensky’s behavior with Trump was unacceptable. EU countries led by France and Germany think it’s OK to sell the U.S. out to support Zelensky’s demands for post-war security. Ukraine decided Feb. 22, 2014 to topple the duly elected Kremlin-backed government.
Watching Democrats exploit politically Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Zelensky shows they’ll do anything to discredit the president. But, contrary to their political strategy for the 2026 Midterm Elections, the same voters who voted for Trump Nov. 5, 2024, could rebel again against Democrats’ disloyalty. Trump did nothing wrong in the Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting, he and J.D. Vance tried to get through to Zelensky with his realistic options. Trump decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine is his right under Article 2 as commander-in-chief. Congress can’t dictate to Trump U.S. foreign policy, including whether or not to back the Ukraine War. Trump wants to reset U.S.-Russian relations from the current war-like state caused by Biden’s foreign policy. Trump believes it’s in U.S. national security to have cooperative, pragmatic relations with Moscow.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
