Showdown in the Oval Office

Friday, February 28, 2025 is not a day Volodymyr Zelenskyy would forget in a hurry. This is a man who has led his country in battle for more than 3 years and must have seen the good and especially the bad and ugly sides of public office, but this date is one that would remain with him for a long long time, and I say this for one, arguably obvious reason which you may already be aware of, but please still read along to find out the reason for this article.

The Oval Office of the President of the United States appeared like a theater during the most recent state visit of the President of Ukraine to the White House. In the presence of the press, the President of the United State; Donald Trump and his Vice President, JD Vance literally scolded the President of a Sovereign independent state; talking to him in raised tone and pointing fingers. In the process, in what I would refer to as a ‘show of shame’ for lack of a better word, one of the press men in the room was bold enough to ask President Zelenskyy why he was in the Oval Office without wearing a suit. It is important to note that President Zelenskyy has always appeared in a quasi-combat costume since his country was dragged into war by Russia, which appears to be a show of his stands with his people and military (as commander in chief) in their apparent fight for survival. Also important to note, on the other hand, is that his Russian counterpart has arguably been to the 'battle front' only once, and has always appeared in his normal costume all along. While this may be a none issue (and obvious is a none issues considering the more important issues at stake), it is important to make this point, arising from the ridiculous question asked by that reporter, who would have been fired for wasting a slot to engage on critical issues, if I were his employer.

Now, on to the reason for this piece, here are my key take aways from that showdown which appeared as an ambush of President Zelenskyy.

1. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝. I suspect that Zelenskyy would have attended the meeting with Trump expecting the worse while hoping for the best. At every opportunity leading up to the visit, Trump had expressed his sentiment about the Russia-Ukraine crisis, even called Zelenskyy a dictator. So Zelenskyy may have been prepared for even worse than what transpired on Friday.

2. 𝐔𝐒 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩 𝐚𝐬 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐝 3 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨. Russia's initial assumption that they could defeat Ukraine within a few weeks or months at the most, calling it a 'special military operation' at the beginning, has obviously been proven wrong. What Russia initially thought as a brief operation has lasted 3 years. The Trump-led government of the US may have approached the talks on Friday and proposed deal with Ukraine with the same thoughts that Ukraine could be cornered and pressured to make a deal against their interest, and I am sure they were surprised at the outcome, hence the outbursts. I agree with Ruth Deyermond that the behaviour of Trump's administration suggests it may have made the same false assumptions about Ukraine as Russia did when it launched its invasion, describing the showdown as the "Oval Office bullying” aimed at forcing Zelenskyy into a deal "where only Ukraine gave and Russia took”.

3. 𝐔𝐒-𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞. It is no rumor that the US has been more magnanimous to Ukraine over the period than any other EU or European ally. While not endorsing the behavior of Trump and Vance, it is fair if the US feels tired of bearing more of the burden than EU allies who are closer to the conflict. However, while the relationship between Ukraine and the US appear in comatose, at least while this administration subsists, the showdown at the oval office should force the UK and other EU allies to consolidate support for Ukraine at this critical moment, or better still mediate in the process of getting the US on board in reaching a deal that would guarantee Ukrainian interest and stop Russia's apparent advancement agenda in Europe.

4. 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩. For the umpteenth time, President Trump has proven that diplomacy is not his strong point. Incidentally, the oval office incident has also proven that Trump is not surrounded by people who have a strong diplomatic orientation either. All the questions and reactions in that room after the reporters question about wearing a suit, reflect that the current US administration would really struggle diplomatically with foreign allies who do not 'play ball' in the direction that they want. This would really be an interesting time for United States foreign relations.

Let me know your own initial and after-thought reactions to the showdown in the oval office, and what you make of the US and Ukraine relations going forward. How quickly do you think the diplomatic strain between the US and Ukraine can be resolved, or if it ever can be resolved under this administration.

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