An Unprecedented Disaster

By Abe Greenwald

Friday, February 28, 2025

 

I was three-quarters done with today’s newsletter when an unprecedented disaster at the White House made my day’s work superfluous. So we recorded an emergency podcast, and I’ll just say a few things about the president’s and vice president’s treatment of Volodymyr Zelenskyy a few hours ago.

 

This public ambush of America’s ally was truly unprecedented and truly disastrous. Trump invited Zelenskyy to the White House for…well, for what?

 

If it was to bring Ukraine closer to some sort of cease-fire deal with Russia, why blow it up (or let your vice president blow it up) by provoking a fight about Zelenskyy’s invented ingratitude toward the U.S.? If it was to just get Zelenskyy to sign the mineral-rights deal, the same applies. Why let him leave without a guarantee of signing, to say nothing of kicking him out of the White House?

 

The only thing that’s clear about Trump’s supposed peace plan is that he doesn’t care at all about Ukraine’s position after the missiles and rockets cease. He wants to end the war and end it quickly. The quickest route to doing that is ending it on Vladimir Putin’s terms, without any pushback on Ukraine’s behalf. If that’s clear to me, it’s a lot clearer to Zelenskyy.

 

So while Zelenskyy didn’t help his cause by being goaded into a yelling match, what difference would it have made if he responded differently to Vance’s instigation? Had he just sucked it up and endured the abuse with a polite smile or some form of assuagement, would Trump be less inclined to come to a deal on Putin’s terms? Doubt it. Trump’s made up his mind about what he wants. Zelenskyy would have looked, before the whole world—including Ukraine and Russia, obsequious in accepting his country’s defeat. No one can say how best to handle an unprecedented disaster.

 

The unprecedented nature of the meeting is self-evident. The disaster part is manifold. Before long, Ukraine will have to keep fighting without any U.S. assistance. U.S.-Europe relations might be strained to the breaking point as Ukraine’s neighbors deal with an advancing Putin’s increasing good fortune. To the U.S.’s friends, we look unreliable, immoral, and weak. To its enemies, we look like dupes. They won’t miss the opportunity to take further advantage. Zelenskyy was right in saying that if Putin is left unchecked, even Americans would feel the consequences. That feeling of shame is the first one.