A poker player's "read" of the Zelensky/Vance/Trump firework display
The wife and I just returned from a great vacation on the Tom Woods Cruise. Such a great time. If/when it comes up next year, I highly recommend you attend. If you do, I’ll see you there!
While at sea, something momentous and interesting happened in the Oval Office that I didn’t get to see in its entirety until I got back home. It was an exchange that is unprecedented in the scripted political soap opera we are all accustomed to.
I just watched the whole 50 minute blow-up between Zelensky, Trump, and Vance, and it’s fascinating — and possibly horrifying.
Most people just caught the last 10 minutes when the fireworks started between Zelensky and Vance, with Trump quickly piling on. But watching the whole thing helps give a whole lot of context — and lets us see a little “behind the scenes” about the elements of the deal that is being negotiated.
Clearly Zelensky is upset. He doesn’t like that the Biden money/weapons spigot isn’t flowing anymore. He doesn’t like that Ukraine is unlikely to regain the territory Russia has taken. He was squirming throughout the whole event, and constantly trying to “manifest” elements of the deal that obviously were not on offer.
When things got heated, Vance stepped in because Zelensky was trying to re-litigate the “unjustness” of his position (and also of the forthcoming deal, one assumes) by slinging mud in front of the cameras and before reporters.
It was wild. It’s the kind of thing you don’t ever see. Most people are focusing on how “unstatesmanlike” Trump and Vance appeared. I completely disagree. This was one of the few honest moments I’ve ever seen from statesmen.
This is what the whole “craft” is all about, except we rarely get to see it. Zelensky tried to manipulate the situation in a very weaselly way and got slapped down hard. Sure, Trump and Vance looked “odd” to onlookers. They aren’t used to seeing behind the scenes.
The way Zelensky gambled (and lost) like this, looked to me like the behavior of a very desperate man.
My read: Zelinsky looked like a shake-down artist whose usually reliable bag of tricks wasn’t working. He looked trapped. He looked scared. Not of Putin — of the people back in Ukraine who sent him to shake us down.
His behavior looked to me like a ploy to garner sympathy from onlookers (who hate the US and our taxpayers, btw), as well as to try to cover his butt from the cronies, nationalists, and Nazis (yes, actual Nazis) back home who will be furious at him for coming home empty handed.
At the 32:30 minute mark (or thereabouts) Zelinsky got so desperate he informed you, me, Trump, and everybody with a TV or an Internet connection that despite the enormous ocean and the thousands of miles separating America from the front lines, that “US soldiers will fight” in this conflict — unless we agree to give him all the money and munitions he needs to win the war with Russia.
These are the words of a desperate man. Why else say something so stupidly provocative?
And also, why show such disregard to the destruction of Ukraine and the deaths of Ukrainian soldiers? Why just shrug — he literally shrugged — at the assertion that being pig-headed could risk WWIII and the destruction of the human race?
I think it’s because Zelinsky isn’t thinking about Ukraine. He’s trying to save his own skin from the den of thieves and murderers who surround him in positions of power in the corrupt kleptocracy that is Ukraine.
I was glad to see Vance and Trump push back, even though it looked a little bizarre. Zelinsky was way out over his skis and I was glad to see him get slapped down. That man has had his corrupt hand in all our pockets for far too long.
If any of you think I’m just “shilling for Putin” or whatever, you should know better. I hate how US politicians for decades have been recklessly expanding NATO and manipulating politics inside other countries like Ukraine to “lead them down the primrose path” to destruction.
I hate how Biden and the Deep State got America so involved in this conflict. I hate how they threw our money away on it. I hate how they risked billions of lives in a nuclear conflict over it.
I also am not pleased about the way Trump is handling it, by the way. He wants us further involved, such that we can extract rare earth minerals from Ukraine. I appreciate that he wants some US corporations to benefit from all the taxpayer money spent, but that’s still a crony “win”.
That said, I’ll take it if it ends the war. I hope it does. I hope Zelensky saved enough face back home to be able to sign the deal soon. I further hope that the US pulls out of NATO and quits acting like a deranged empire before it kills us all.
Oh, one more thing: It was almost a “throwaway” issue, but I was very happy to see Trump, Vance, and Rubio so completely and vigorously stand up for free speech against its opponents in the UK and elsewhere.
Western Europe is in danger of abandoning the values that made it great. We should be smarter and more principled than they have been lately. If we lose free speech, we lose everything.
Naturally,
Adam
Want the truth about the history that lead up to all of this? Read Provoked by Scott Horton. It’ll cure what’s ailing you.
If I recall some of the clips, there was even an exchange about "playing a game" between Trump and Zelensky.
Enjoyed getting the poker player's perspective from you, Adam!
thanks for sharing.... this perspective from a connection who fled Ukraine when Russia invaded,
"Ukraine has been bravely defending itself against Russian aggression for 3 years now. Thanks to its forces and the help of many countries of the world. Russia does not want to stop its aggression, does not want to stop the war. Until the complete destruction of Ukraine. Cities are being wiped off the face of the earth. Every day for three years.
If Russia stops attacking, the war will stop.
If Ukraine stops defending itself, then Ukraine will disappear. Together with the people. This is happening now in the territories occupied by Russia (about 20% of Ukraine's territory).
This is a very broad topic. This is something that cannot be said in a few words. It is very painful. My mother is there.
I trust Zelensky. There is no problem with Zelensky. He is with the Ukrainian people. We are defending ourselves to survive.
I carefully watched the broadcast of the meeting in the White House. There is no disrespect from Zelensky. Enormous pain and a request for help.
Ukraine does not want war, but Russia does not stop attacking for a minute."
So interesting the range in meaning ascribed to the exchange, depending on what we're looking for. I'm starting to pay attention to international affairs, largely due to being thrilled with provocation of Vance with the UN