The bar, it must be said, was low.
Last time Volodymyr Zelensky came to the White House, he got called a dictator, disrespectful and told he was “gambling with world war three”. This time, he just said thank you. A lot. And thus emerged unscathed. But “thank you”, exactly for what?
What do we believe actually happened in that grand meeting yesterday – the Ukrainian chief bubble-wrapped in European leaders as if to stop him breaking and accepting the world’s worst deal. Run through the text of what was actually said – there is next to nothing to take home.
Donald Trump made no guarantee he’d support Zelensky to keep Ukrainian land. No guarantee of American security after any deal. No guarantee even that America would come to Ukraine’s aid in any future invasion – he floated the idea of a Nato “Article 5-like arrangement”. But there is nothing “like Article 5” if the countries don’t show up when you call. All we learnt – apart from the importance of flattery and a sartorial climb down – was that there may be a future meeting between Zelensky and Putin, something the Russian side has already downgraded.
Sometimes you read stories of animals – family pets – so loyal they will wait, daily, at school bus stops for their owner’s return, even years after those children have left school, grown up, moved away from home. Call it a muscle memory – the need to believe nothing has changed – that simply by standing at the bus stop, and hoping, you can magic the reality that you want.
That has, in essence, been the approach this week of the press corps following each twist and turn of the Alaska/ White House meetings. We asked questions to each other – on air – as if real diplomacy hung in the balance, as if solutions would be found, compromises made, sacrifices built in to an eventual deal. We forgot one thing – that we were dealing with Trump and Putin. A narcissist. And a war criminal. A man with an international arrest warrant following his name.
Did we really believe we were going to see a deal from Alaska? When Ukraine wasn’t even in the conversation? When Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, had to stand meekly by waiting for his turn as if in a queue for a passport stamp – unemotional, unharried?
Did we really believe, as Putin set foot on American soil – sorry, on a red carpet on American soil – for the first time in four years, and as we watched Trump clap him onto the stage, that Trump was going to give him a piece of his mind? Did we really think he would criticise, lambast, sanction or make demands of the man for whom he’s only ever shown admiration?
We are programmed – the news corp, the diplomatic media, to treat summits with the kind of respect they used to garner in the days of Ronald Reagan, or Bill Clinton. Or George Mitchell, or Tony Blair. Men who played chess. Or at least employed other people who did. Leaders who worked out their moves ahead of time. Who learnt the moves of their opponent before they made them.
Trump isn’t that sort of leader. He had no demands of Putin. He was told – by the Russian dictator – there would be no ceasefire – so his response was to urge Zelensky to “make a deal”. The president whose country was invaded, whose citizens murdered, and their children kidnapped, was being told to (checks notes)… let Putin crack on.
A child can tell you that’s not statecraft, it’s submission. It’s the recognition (at least!) that Trump has no actual power in the relationship with Putin. Any he might once have had was – to coin a phrase – spaffed up the wall the moment Putin landed in America and shook his hand. And the fact that the author of that dubious phrase, one Boris Johnson, called this summit “vomit inducing” is perhaps the most clear-eyed political analysis we will get.
square SARAH BAXTER Trump's love-bombing has worked with leaders - for now
Read More
Trump promised to end the war on day one. Just as he promised to release the Israeli hostages and to stop the war in Gaza. Just as he promised to bring down the price of everyday goods and to make businesses feel confident again. He didn’t. And he didn’t. And he still hasn’t. You can see where I’m going with this.
He’s not the stupid one. We are. Because we still act like he understands diplomacy and can repair the world. Remember when North Korea’s “Rocket Man” was his best mate? A lifetime ago.
Trump believes in the power of television to tell a story. He loves a crowd and a clap and a press phalanx. He loves a world leader (particularly a strong one) shaking his hand. But he now wants it to be over. Intermission. Ad break. A time to stretch the legs. He’s getting bored. And if Putin won’t back down – well, someone else will have to instead.
You can use the language of diplomacy – bilateral and trilaterals and a “promise of US coordination”. But that doesn’t change the facts. A dictator at home is unlikely to be a sweetie-pie abroad. The Soviet Union violated virtually every arms control agreement it signed. Putin has violated plenty more on his own watch.
This time, there isn’t even the promise of a ceasefire. He’s making no concessions. And Trump has asked for none.
Zelensky said thank you five times in the Office. For what?
Emily Maitlis is a journalist, broadcaster and host of the podcast The News Agents
Hence then, the article about trump s not the stupid one here was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Trump’s not the stupid one here )
Also on site :
- STAG INDUSTRIAL TO REPORT FIRST QUARTER 2026 RESULTS
- Dodgers Claim Grant Holman From D-Backs
- BTS Dominates YouTube’s Global, U.S. Charts