6 January, 2025

Manhattan University professor Igor Eisenberg suggests that in his interview with Lex Fridman, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was aiming to connect with American voters rather than sending specific messages to Donald Trump.

He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

“I believe Zelenskyy’s interview with Lex Fridman was more about communicating not with Trump directly, but with his voters. Lex Fridman is a very far-right podcaster, and his audience overlaps with the listeners and viewers of Tucker Carlson. In other words, this is an audience inclined toward far-right views. 

I think the Ukrainian president was trying, in some way, to appeal to this audience—not so much on a personal level, but to create some sympathy for Ukraine among them. Let’s be honest—most of this audience doesn’t have much sympathy for Ukraine. A portion of them doesn’t necessarily sympathize with Russia but rather with the authoritarian regime in place there, and they would prefer to see a similar political structure in the United States,” Eisenberg explained.  

According to the professor, voters in the U.S. play an important role and can influence specific government decisions.  

“I believe Volodymyr Zelenskyy was trying to speak to this audience. How successful he was remains to be seen. But it’s important to understand that much depends on the U.S. For example, when Speaker Johnson agreed to consider aid for Ukraine in April, it followed millions of messages sent by voters directly to him. In other words, voters in the U.S. play a crucial role, and it’s essential to engage with them,” he added.

• In an interview with American podcaster Lex Fridman, Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russian leader Vladimir Putin will try to play along with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump by repeating the exact same military and political trick he pulled with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2019.

https://global.espreso.tv/volodymyr-zelenskyy-zelenskyy-addresses-not-trump-but-his-voters-in-interview-with-fridman-professor-eisenberg