Yuri Kobzar23:06, 28.02.25

It would be worse if Zelensky was pressured behind closed doors.

For all the negativity that the quarrel between the presidents of Ukraine and the United States entails , there is at least one positive aspect to what happened – the whole world saw what is really behind Donald Trump’s “fake public friendliness.” It would have been worse for Ukraine if Zelensky had been quietly pressured behind closed doors, writes David Frum, a columnist for the authoritative magazine The Atlantic .

“Trump and Vance have shown Americans and America’s allies their commitment to Russia and their hostility to Ukraine in general and its president in particular. The truth is unpleasant, but we must face it,” the publication says.

The journalist notes that the quarrel in the Oval Office has refuted any claims that the Trump administration is guided by US interests, even erroneous ones. According to the observer, the cameras showed Trump and Vance’s “personal hatred” of Zelensky, which had nothing to do with defending American interests.

“Both the president and vice president showed the U.S.-led alliance system what it urgently needed to know: the West’s national security system is led by two men who cannot be trusted to protect America’s allies and who are deeply sympathetic to the world’s most aggressive dictator,” Frum writes.

The journalist notes that America’s allies urgently need a plan B for collective security in a world where the US administration favors Vladimir Putin over Zelensky. He recalled that during Trump’s first term, his team included many “normal” officials who kept him from the biggest madness. But this time, Trump has managed to impose his own style of government on the Republicans.

“The party that supports Trump bared its face to the world in the Oval Office today. No one who saw that face will ever forget that grotesque spectacle,” Frum concludes.

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