The most immediate impact of the meeting has been the deterioration of U.S.-Ukraine relations, which are now at rock bottom. But a second, far more significant effect will be had on the U.S.’s ties with NATO
by Stephen Kokx
Analysis
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky’s explosive meeting in the Oval Office last week has left political observers wondering what it is they just saw.
After nearly forty minutes of mostly cordial remarks, the two engaged in a historic, rarely-seen-before public argument in that space that can only be described as the equivalent of a diplomatic nuclear bomb.
The most immediate impact of the meeting has been the deterioration of U.S.-Ukraine relations, which are now at rock bottom. But a second, far more significant effect will be had on the U.S.’s ties with NATO.
If I were a betting man, I’d wager that President Trump will call for the U.S. to withdraw from that antiquated entity during his highly anticipated speech to Congress tomorrow night. His right-hand man Elon Musk has already called for that on X.
One of the most unexpected developments in the last few days has been the speed at which long-time Zelensky ally Lindsey Graham has thrown him overboard.
“I don’t know if we can ever do business with Zelensky again,” the South Carolina Senator thundered to the media less than an hour after the exchange. “He either needs to resign … or he needs to change.”
Graham is right to be incensed. He and a group of War Inc. senators met with Zelensky just hours before he went to the White House. He has also visited Ukraine nearly a dozen times and was desperately trying to keep the U.S. entangled in it by continually telling Trump it has trillions of dollars in rare earth mineral. His decision to turn his back on the man he has supported for nearly a decade is remarkable.
Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville told Newsmax something similar. He said Zelensky is “brainwashed by the globalist, socialist group in Europe” and that he’s trying to “play hard ball but he’s not even in the game.”
Meanwhile, America first lawmakers are using the meeting to go for broke.
“NATO is a Cold War relic that needs to be relegated to a talking kiosk at the Smithsonian,” Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie said on X, sensing growing frustration with the U.S. subsidizing the alliance.
GOP Senator Mike Lee also called for the U.S. to withdraw from the organization.
Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna wants the U.S. out of NATO as well.
After being kicked to the curb from the White House, Zelensky hopped on a plane to meet with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other leaders of the European Union, who have pledged support for his un-winnable conflict.
Starmer unironically told reporters that the U.K. is committed to sending young men and women to the front lines and that “Europe must do the heavy lifting” now but that “strong U.S. backing” is also needed.
Good luck with that.
Starmer’s comments were met with swift criticism on social media because his efforts would seemingly lead to Britons dying in foreign lands while their homeland is over-run by Islamists.
But not all Senators have had the same reaction Graham did.
RINO Lisa Murkowski, perhaps unaware that Ukraine has lost track of $100 billion in U.S. aid money, said “the administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin.”
Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly similarly said that “bullying an ally of ours makes us look weak.”
Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut went so far as to call the meeting “a set up” by Trump.
Murphy’s response is most curious because it is verbatim what former Obama adviser Susan Rice has said.
During an interview with MSNBC, Rice accused Trump of plotting an “ambush” in front of the cameras so he could “show fealty to Vladimir Putin.”
Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist wrote about the narrative being constructed by Rice and Democrats on Capitol Hill.
She claimed in an X post that Zelensky was advised by Rice, Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken, warmonger Victoria Nuland, and Alexander Vindman to “be hostile and to try to goad Trump into blowing up” so they could go “on the airwaves to falsely characterize what happened.”
“I think their goal was to have a wonderful performance by Zelensky, an angry Trump appearing to scuttle the deal, and the support of the neocon portion of the GOP to start applying pressure on Trump to have U.S. Troop commitments as part of the ‘security guarantee,’” she said.
“Instead, Zelensky had one of the worst stage performances of his acting career, and Trump was statesmanlike (against all odds) throughout. Zelensky followed Team Obama’s advice to be hostile to a tee, but it didn’t land how they thought it would … even the ‘conservative’ neocon pundits on TV last night were admitting Zelensky had royally messed up.”
Long-time Trump ally Roger Stone is now calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the purported interference, citing a violation of the Logan Act.
In the meantime, the Trump admin is forging ahead to peace. Secretary of State Rubio obliterated Murkowski’s arguments while speaking with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos this weekend.
“Shouldn’t we all be happy that we have a president who’s trying to stop wars and prevent them instead of start them?” he asked.
Trump himself is seeking to refocus attention on domestic issues.
“We should spend less time worrying about Putin, and more time worrying about migrant rape Gangs, drug lords, murderers, and people from mental institutions entering our country — so that we don’t end up like Europe,” he said on X.
Trump also issued a social media post stating that “America will not put up with” Zelensky’s decision to drag the war on forever.
“This guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing,” he said. “Europe … stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia.”
All eyes now turn to Trump’s speech to Congress Tuesday night. No doubt he will have important updates on these and on other important foreign policy topics with the aim of ending needless death and destruction.
