Who’s responsible for the televised blow-up between Donald Trump and JD Vance on the one hand and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky on the other?
The answer is: mostly Trump and Vance.
Zelensky spoke quietly throughout the altercation trying, unsuccessfully, to get a word in edgewise, as Trump and Vance berated him for not being grateful for U.S. support of Ukraine.
Where Did This All Go Wrong?
The Ukrainian president made two mistakes.
First, he insisted on speaking in his decidedly limited English rather than speaking with more nuance through an interpreter.
And second, he treated the event, not as a press conference whose purpose is to show smiling leaders praising one another for their humanity and genius, but as a bona fide exchange of views—something that is better left for intimate conversations at a negotiating table or over drinks.
Zelensky should have smiled, praised the president, and stayed silent.
In contrast, the American president and vice-president knew from the start that the press conference was an opportunity for them to act tough, and thereby appeal to their constituents, and demand that Zelensky show deference.
Both Vance and Trump harped on Zelensky’s seeming lack of gratitude for U.S. aid—a bizarre stance to have taken during a meeting that was intended to culminate in their signing a rare earth minerals business deal.
Trump revealed his expectations when he lectured Zelensky on being disrespectful, even when he had no cards to play. In other words, Trump was playing the role that suits him best—that of a bully.
Significantly, the mood was civil until Zelensky stated that no American president—including Trump—had done enough to help Ukraine after Russia’s first invasion in 2014.
Both Trump and Vance immediately bristled at the indirect criticism and embarked on several minutes of lecturing Zelensky as if he were an errant school boy.
Zelensky should have known better how press conferences with Trump work, and that’s his fault and that of his advisors.
His mistakes could easily have been corrected. Trump and Vance shouldn’t have been bullies, but, as their behavior in many other contexts shows, that problem can’t be fixed, because that’s just what they are.
What Happens Now Between America and Ukraine?
Poor Zelensky will have to engage in a public act of penance and come crawling to Trump on his knees.
The minerals deal and American support are too important for Ukraine for him to stay angry. If worse comes to worst, Zelensky may have to resign to assuage the volatile American president.
However, Trump faces an equally problematic set of choices.
If he lets his pique enable Putin to win, he will forego whatever chances he had of a Nobel Peace Prize, he will expose himself as a pushover, and he’ll be responsible for the deaths of millions of Ukrainians and Russians.
A true dealmaker would extend a hand to Zelensky. A wimpish bully would not.
About the Author: Dr. Alexander Motyl
Dr. Alexander Motyl is a professor of political science at Rutgers-Newark. A specialist on Ukraine, Russia, and the USSR, and on nationalism, revolutions, empires, and theory, he is the author of 10 books of nonfiction, including Pidsumky imperii (2009); Puti imperii (2004); Imperial Ends: The Decay, Collapse, and Revival of Empires (2001); Revolutions, Nations, Empires: Conceptual Limits and Theoretical Possibilities (1999); Dilemmas of Independence: Ukraine after Totalitarianism (1993); and The Turn to the Right: The Ideological Origins and Development of Ukrainian Nationalism, 1919–1929 (1980); the editor of 15 volumes, including The Encyclopedia of Nationalism (2000) and The Holodomor Reader (2012); and a contributor of dozens of articles to academic and policy journals, newspaper op-ed pages, and magazines. He also has a weekly blog, “Ukraine’s Orange Blues.”
