President Donald Trump talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. February 28, 2025. Photo courtesy of the White House via X.com.
In an email to supporters of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, Executive Director Daniel McAdams details the “Press conference heard ’round the world.” He wonders if the explosive press conference between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could be “the end of Project Ukraine.” He writes:
It was the White House Press Conference heard ’round the world. What was supposed to be a simple signing ceremony for President Trump’s slightly confusing “mineral deal” with Ukraine’s President Zelensky turned into a pitched battle between Trump, his Vice President Vance, and the man who had been sold to the west as a “Modern Churchill” for the past three years.
Sometimes carefully crafted illusions die slowly, but in this case they fell from the sky like a duck hit with birdshot.
It started out on the wrong foot, with the Ukrainian president showing up in his usual dirty track suit to meet the President of the United States in the Oval Office. “Oh, I see you’re all dressed up today,” Trump chided upon Zelensky’s arrival.
Zelensky’s behavior went downhill from there, referring to the Vice President of the US dismissively as “JD,” while VP Vance responded to the insult by replying, “Mr. President, with respect, it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media.”
Zelensky in the above-linked clip proceeded to interrupt Vance, dismissing the US Vice President’s reference to Ukraine’s well-known manpower crisis in the war with Russia by stating, “have you ever been to Ukraine?”
Vance responded that he knows well how Ukraine brings foreign dignitaries to Ukraine for a propaganda tour – and in the middle of Vance’s accurate description of the dog and pony shows Zelensky is caught on the mic whispering an expletive to Vance that cannot be reprinted in this family-friendly column, but that can be heard clearly here.
Zelensky responded to Vance’s point about the lack of soldiers in Ukraine (most of whom are dead), saying, “[I]n war, everybody has problems. Even you, but you have nice ocean and don’t feel it now. But you will feel it in the future.”
That was enough for President Trump. At this very moment, US support was hit by a neutron bomb. A visibly furious Trump cut Zelensky off, saying, “You don’t know that. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel…. Because you’re in no position to dictate that.”
Zelensky continued to talk over Trump petulantly as the US President snapped: “You are not in a very good position. You don’t have the cards right now.”
Zelensky again insulting Trump, “I’m not playing cards right now. I’m serious.”
Trump – visibly furious: “You are playing cards. You are gambling with the lives of millions of people. You are gambling with world war III. And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to this country.”
After a few more such acrimonious exchanges, where Zelensky was argumentative and constantly interrupting President Trump, the US leader had had enough. Punctuating his point with his finger, Trump said, “It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this.”
Vance added, “Accept that there are disagreements, and let’s go litigate those disagreements rather than trying to fight it out in the American media…when you’re wrong.”
Booom!
Zelensky was, according to Fox News, kicked out of the White House and staffers were brought in to eat the lunch that had been prepared.
Read more from McAdams here.
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