During an earlier meeting between Ukrainian President Zelensky, President Trump, and VP Vance, things were less than cordial. The meeting resulted in Zelensky getting called out on national TV and the Ukrainian president more or less getting kicked out of the White House.
This time, EU leaders are coming to back him up, and Rubio was confronted as to why.
The meeting in February made for some great TV, and while Trump took a lot of heat for the outburst on national TV, I think Zelensky needed to be put in his place in terms of leverage.
Vance called out Zelensky for trying to litigate his case on TV before the American people, and tempers really started to flare.
After the meeting, Trump posted, “I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations.
“I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
This time around, Zelensky was bringing backup to the meeting, as nearly a dozen NATO and EU leaders joined him at the table.
I believe this was done for two reasons.
Trump wanted to strike while the iron was hot, fresh off his meeting with Putin, so they wanted to protect the interests of Ukraine to make sure Trump did not steamroll him.
Second, they wanted to make sure Zelensky did not sabotage the meeting on his own, as he had done last time.
This weekend, Rubio interviewed with “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan, and it did not go very well, at least for Brennan.
She pushed the narrative that EU leaders were protecting Zelensky from being bullied, but Rubio pushed right back, stating, “That is not true. But that’s not true, they’re not coming here tomorrow to keep Zelensky from being bullied.”
While I think Rubio is wrong, as I stated above, I think they had multiple reasons for wanting to go, which would include ensuring that Ukraine got Article 5-like protections from NATO. This would be a huge win for Zelensky because, while it is unlikely he will be admitted to NATO, those protections are just as good.
Furthermore, I don’t think Trump had any plans to bully Zelensky. Zelensky was just pushing Trump’s buttons, but Trump understands where he is coming from, and we now have a vested interest in Ukraine, so Trump will not let him get taken by Putin. Trump has also been very honest that he will present a deal, and if Zelensky does not like it, Ukraine can continue to fight Russia (although whether it would have the support of the United States remains to be seen).