by Mick the Ram

In scenes that were quite astonishing, Donald Trump and his Vice President JD Vance essentially gave the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a public dressing down in front of TV cameras and a room full of journalists at the White House.

It should have been an amicable meeting, in which a deal was to be signed intended to give the United States access to rare-earth and other critical minerals, as part of an overall plan to help Ukraine recover after a ceasefire is agreed.

However, it quickly became clear that Mr Zelensky was not going to be given an easy ride and it appeared to many that Mr Trump had staged the performance and seemed to be trying to intimidate and humiliate the Ukrainian leader.

Losing his cool and his temper, Mr Trump warned his “guest” to “make a deal with Russia or we’re out,” before adding: “you’re gambling with World War Three, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country – this country.”

To his credit Mr Zelensky – who must have felt he had been lured into a trap – stood his ground insisting there should be “no compromises with a killer on our territory” much to the frustration of Messrs Trump and Vance who continued with what could be described as bullying tactics.

The room was full of animosity and onlookers who could scarcely believe what they were witnessing saw the meeting close abruptly, before the scheduled news conference afterwards was unsurprisingly cancelled.

Incredible to see

The dramatic confrontation played out in front of a watching audience of hundreds of millions, was quite incredible to see – even by Donald Trump’s standards – and this after the meeting appeared to be nicely on track with some friendly chat.

Then Mr Trump suggested that Ukraine would have to make “compromises” in a truce with Russia, “You can’t do any deals without compromises; so certainly he’s going to have to make some compromises, but hopefully they won’t be as big as some people think.”

“No compromises”

However, rather than simply agreeing, Mr Zelensky proceeded to show the president pictures of war atrocities and referring to Vladimir Putin, he said there should be “no compromises with a killer on our territory.”

He then told Mr Trump that he should visit his embattled nation: “You have to come and to look.”

“Ungrateful”

The vice-president then had his say, telling Mr Zelensky that the war had to be ended through diplomacy, prompting the Ukrainian to question that statement, to which Mr Vance called him “disrespectful” and “ungrateful for three years of American support”.

President Zelensky then asked the vice-president if he’s been to Ukraine which drew the reply that he had “read about it and seen it.”

The caused the Ukrainian leader to shake his head and look away, before stating that the US will also eventually “feel the consequences of the war”.

Anger growing

That triggered Mr Trump to go fully on the attack, waving his hands and first telling Mr Zelensky: “You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel” and to be more “thankful” before stressing: “You’re not winning this; you have a damn good chance of coming out OK because of us, but your country is in big trouble.”

Now getting increasingly angry, the US president added: “We gave you through this stupid president (referencing to Joe Biden) $350bn, we gave you military equipment… if you didn’t have our military equipment this war would have been over in two weeks.”

No deal

After several more sharp exchanges, the meeting was brought to a premature close with no “great deal” signed… but a great deal of harm done.

Mr Zelensky rushed out and got straight into a black SUV, which shot away at speed.

Door still open

President Trump later shared a statement on his Truth Social site: “We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today and much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure.

“It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelensky 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.”

Only one winner

Once the dust settles, there can be no doubt who the happiest leader will be… a certain Vladimir Putin.