Episode Details

In the aftermath of the dust-up in the Oval Office between Vlodomyr Zelenskyy, President Trump, and Vice President Vance, I find it stunning that so many, quick to their opinions, can be so blind—and stubbornly so—to the realities of what happened and the opportunities that were refused.

First, Zelenskyy is the leader (for now) of what the World Bank calls a “lower-middle-income country.” It is by no means in any position to claim the mantle of what we would have called “first world” status during the Cold War. Additionally, Zelenskyy is the leader of a country that needs foreign aid—both militarily and financially—to survive in the immediate.

So, his outrageous demeanor in the Oval Office toward President Trump and Vice President Vance—not to mention his backstabbing of Secretary of State Marco Rubio in changing the terms of the Rare Earth Minerals Agreement—is and was completely and absolutely unacceptable. Zelenskyy is not of equal station or stature as the President of the United States. Put bluntly, you don’t come asking for foreign aid and start dictating what you will accept, how the benefactor will feel, and what the donor country will do.

And it wasn’t just Americans, sans the radical Left, who must consistently and inanely take the opposite position of everything Donald Trump says (every House Democrat voted against eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits, tips, and overtime). Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Dubinsky called for an emergency session of the Ukrainian Parliament to initiate impeachment proceedings against Zelenskyy. It needs to be noted that Dubinsky is currently imprisoned in Ukraine for his alleged Russian influence (Zelenskyy didn’t like what he was saying, so he put him in prison).

In a completely unscientific social media poll (and I don’t put a lot of stock in polling, but when one is substantially lopsided, it’s hard to argue that the sentiment isn’t there), 71.4% of the respondents said they believed Zelenskyy’s actions in the Oval Office diminished the American people’s support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

And how could we not. Zelenskyy sat defiantly in the Oval Office declaring with a full-throat that he would both not accept a ceasefire and not negotiate peace with Vladimir Putin. Regardless of what you may think about Putin (I am not a fan, by far), if you are unwilling to enter into dialogues with your nation-state adversary, how do you expect to craft an avenue to peace; how do you stop the killing?

Zelenskyy’s attitude on those points alone validates Mr. Trump’s statement that Zelenskyy isn’t “ready for Peace if America is involved.”

But even more arrogantly egregious was Zelenskyy’s pivot away from the Rare Earth Minerals Agreement in his demand for “security guarantees” from the United States. This is where the “drive-by know-nothing” social media opinionators expose their complete lack of critical thinking skills and intellectual comprehension of geopolitical issues involving Ukraine and Russia.

Zelenskyy’s insistence on “security guarantees” from the United States equates to the United States committing to military engagement should Russia violate any agreement to cease hostilities. That would mean a direct US military conflict with Russia—US troops on the ground—and with Russia having China's unwavering alliance and recent assurances