Here are some photos of poor President Zelenskyy meeting with Donald Trump on Monday. First, they met in the Oval, and let me tell you, Saddam Hussein’s palaces were less gaudy than the current Oval Office. Then after the photocall/Oval presser, they moved into a larger meeting. This was Zelenskyy’s first visit to the White House since February, which is when Trump and JD Vance whine-raged at him and cried about how he’s never said “thank you” (he has, many times). This time, Zelenskyy came prepared and he brought the European Avengers – the leaders of France, Germany, the UK, Finland, Italy, NATO and the EU. My current opinion is that this situation is less about Europe trying to “convince” Trump of anything, and more about the visual of Europe outflanking this gibbering moron and showing Putin that they’re still in charge, regardless of whatever kompromat he holds on Trump.
Reportedly, Keir Starmer “coached” Zelenskyy on what to say to Trump, and the meetings did seem to go a lot better than the February mess. It was clear to everyone involved that Trump’s physical and mental decline is profound, so Europe is working him over and just trying to nullify him internationally. One notable thing is that Putin apparently emphasized to Trump that under no circumstances should Ukraine be allowed to join NATO. Trump said that in the Oval too, that Putin doesn’t want that, and it sounds like Trump is convinced that he doesn’t want it either. Too bad – other NATO countries want it, and they want to treat Ukraine like it is already a NATO signatory. The whole point of NATO is that they don’t need “permission” from Russia to do a g–damn thing.
Within the larger discussions between Trump and the European leaders, it sounds like they basically tried to reprogram him after Putin had his way with Trump. A weakened, docile Trump listened as Macron and Chancellor Merz discussed the details of any potential ceasefire, and Macron took the public position that no matter what, they should remember that Putin is not negotiating in good faith. Apparently, as soon as the larger meetings were over, Trump called Putin (his handler) and they spoke for close to an hour. The Europeans were successful to a certain degree, although this emergency meeting in DC shows that Europe doesn’t trust Trump AND they all know how to work him over.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
