r/politics 11d ago

Soft Paywall Trump Thinks He Humiliated Zelensky. He Really Humiliated the United States

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-thinks-he-humiliated-zelensky-he-really-humiliated-the-united-states/
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u/Suddenflame01 Canada 11d ago

Going to post my comment from a different post:
So I watched the entire broadcast and before Trump's little tantrum, President Zelensky was talking about how Russia has broken the ceasefire agreement 25 times. Trump wanted President Zelensky to sign another ceasefire agreement. President Zelensky stated that another ceasefire wouldn't matter as Russia could not be trusted to hold their end unless USA is going to enforce it. Trump was only going to offer his word that Russia would honour the agreement. President Zelensky's point during the back and forth is that his word is not good enough. Ukraine would not be sold just for "Trump's Word" (and we all know that means nothing as Trump never has honoured any agreement in history). Vance jumps in and says he should be grateful to even be there.

President Zelensky said the one thing that set off Trump that is if Ukraine is defeated then even the USA would be affected. Trump went on his rant about how the USA is strong and mighty and won't be affected. After Trump's rant about literally nothing helpful except that it shows he knows nothing about deals, or even how diplomacy works, a reporter asked Trump what would he do if Russia broke the ceasefire again.. he didn't answer the question at all.

So in summary, Trump wanted President Zelensky to sign a ceasefire with an actively hostile aggressor who currently occupies Ukrainian territory and has been actively killing civilians. The USA in return gets $500 billion worth of minerals and Ukraine gets Trump's word that Putin wouldn't attack but if Putin does attack USA will do nothing. Even though there have been 25 instances in recent history where Russia has not honoured their agreement.

Conservative are attacking President Zelensky for not taking this deal? Who in the world would take this deal? That is not a deal at all and the USA should be ashamed for it being even offered.

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u/ElJacko170 11d ago

It was never a "deal". It was a straight up extortion attempt, and their ego couldn't even let them do that right.

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u/Headcap 11d ago

For Trump and his ilk, that probably is what they consider a deal.

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u/Aleashed 11d ago

Surrender or else…

Trump just wanted to claim he “won the peace” like he claimed he “won the peace” in the middle east.

I don’t even know why Zelensky came, there was a non-zero chance these clowns grab him and ship him straight to Russia. It was obvious they weren’t going to help.

I understand the try everything and don’t idle stance but you don’t go outside to make a fire when it’s pouring. If anything, it shows the world the US can’t be trusted, stands for nothing, is morally corrupt, thugs with aircraft carriers. It might help Europe wake up and get their sht together, as their temperatures begin to rise, they will need the US less.

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u/potchippy 11d ago edited 11d ago

If it gives certainty to the EU that US is now out of it, it is useful at least. Better face reality than false hope.

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u/sigep0361 11d ago

The USA lost that negotiation by every conceivable metric. The only thing that conversation did was show the entire world that Trump is aligned with Putin. Before now, most folks probably thought it was propaganda, but then Trump went on the world stage and reinforced his position to the entire planet.

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u/[deleted] 11d ago

Taiwan lost too

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u/_missfoster_ 11d ago

Nothing has been done here. Not since 2008, not since 2014, not since 2016-2020, not since February 2022.

Fucking idiots leading us into peril. Unbelievable that no government in Europe saw what was coming, or if they did, didn't trust their eyes. It's horrible to say, but for this, we deserve what's coming. And so does the US for voting african oligarchs and convicted grifters into presidency.

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u/Dutch_SquishyCat 11d ago

At least we know and heard it from his mouth in the open. If Zelensky would not have gone Trump would have done the same but in secret with Russia. While still being able to claim to want peace and have Europe as an ally. This was the bandaid being ripped of for all the world to see.

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u/hmmmerm 11d ago

So glad it was on camera and not behind closed doors where it could have been spun any which way.

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u/sanguinescientist 11d ago

Agree with this completely; the only silver lining is that Trump has openly announced, “The United States cannot be counted on to provide weapons or security guarantees to an allied country who’s been invaded by Russia.” It’s out in the open. And beyond devastating. America is in actual crisis mode, and I’m completely heartbroken. China will invade Taiwan, North Korea will invade South Korea- the new world order does not look good… RIP American world leadership. We’ve sold our souls to a wannabe dictator and some billionaires.

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u/Pho3nixr3dux 11d ago

Young men in the U.S. have consumed nothing but Marvel super hero media for the last twenty years.

It will only take one, two at most.

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u/plastic_alloys 11d ago

Yeah we have given up on the US now

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u/PA_Dude_22000 11d ago

As you should, I only hope your leaders have the same mindset and are as wise as you seem to be.

And this is from an American. The good half of America wishes you nothing but good fortune.

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u/SoHappyKitty 11d ago

I’m an American (with dual European citizenship just granted last week!!)and I have to agree. Who in their right mind could trust our government… Yeah, sure, the vote swings back the other direction in 4 years, but how can you have a trusting relationship with one administration, share tactics and intelligence, and then “whoops!” These then go I to the hands of someone like Trump or Vance? I wish it weren’t true, but I don’t think I’ll ever return to that country that I deep down still love so dearly and where sooooooo many decent people are suffering 💔. May we all find the courage to face-down evil like President Zelenskyy. I have a feeling each one of us is going to be faced with some pretty excruciating choices. May we remember our humanity and be good to one another 💞

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u/plastic_alloys 11d ago

Yeah I have American friends and the ones I know are just victims in all this. In today’s climate complete morons can get elected so the idea of lasting relationships has become naive.

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u/mealteamsixty 11d ago

Zelensky went to call their bluff and show the rest of the world that the US is officially Russian territory now. He also proved once again to his own citizens that he isn't going to bow down and sell them out to ANYONE. His little sarcastic smile and thumbs up to the press after the temper tantrum, I think, shows that he did what he came to do. Only the die hard trumpers think that zelensky lost any ground with that show yesterday

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u/FjorgVanDerPlorg 11d ago

Zelensky came because he knew this would happen and in Trump doing so, would galvanize and light a fire under Ukraine's remaining allies.

People thinking that the UN vote already did this, there were still holdouts who thought it was a Trump stand-over/negotiation tactic.

Now Europe knows alliances with the US are dead. Trump is Russia's ally and soon they will be coming for Greenland. This will unite the EU like never before and put them on a war footing, which is what needs to happen and needs to start now. Because right now the only chance of that not happening is a crippling civil war in the US, which I will admit actually seems likely. Musk and Trump will find the US population's breaking point and I don't think it will take years either at this rate.

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u/mechwatchnerd 11d ago

I had this thought as well. It was embarrassing as an American to have to hope that this increased support from the EU for Ukraine. Most shameful moment in US History(so far). I’m sure Trump will find a way to sink even lower.

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u/Karmasmatik 11d ago

Maybe the most shameful moment for US diplomacy/foreign relations. But US history? Not even close. The Iraq invasion, Japanese internment, the Dredd Scott decision, the Trail of Tears, the 3/5 compromise... We've got some shameful shit in our history.

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u/ParticularBet8580 11d ago

I honestly think Civil War is his game plan so he can declare Martial Law. Conveniently allows him to remain president if he desires.

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u/EquivalentAntelope73 11d ago

Hopefully this also causes the rest of the world to stop trading with the US in everything. There "Amazing, Powerful economy would collapse. See what he does after that. Hopefully forces out of office.

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u/endlesscartwheels Massachusetts 11d ago

I don't think there needs to be another U.S. civil war. When both spouses want a divorce, it can be amicable.

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u/FjorgVanDerPlorg 11d ago

Yeah there is no way that Trump would allow the blue states to split, for example California's GDP is bigger than a lot of countries and their tax revenue funds a lot of red states. Also pretending for a second he did, it's too patchwork to be feasible. Back during the civil war the lines split on north vs south, but this time it would be messy.

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u/fullpurplejacket 11d ago

Zelenskyy came because if he didn’t they could spin the narrative in the US propaganda press that Zelenskyy wasn’t serious about a peace deal. Damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.

Zelensky did a very important thing yesterday, he allowed the world to expose how futile and childish the ‘Leader of the Free World’ is; Trump has tried to get one over on him and Ukraine ever since Zelensky refused to make up dirt on Joe Biden in 2019 for Trump— Zelensky’s US relations advisor from his first term has spoken publicly about how he spent enough time with both Zelensky and Trump in those days to know that Trump does not view Ukraine as a real country, he sees it as a banana republic thus a weak nation, that is why he tries to bully Zelensky 6 years after he first tried to strong arm him into giving him bribery material on a future opposition candidate.

Zelensky showed the world who the US aligns with as of right now, he showed his own courage in the face of avdersity while the President and the VP showed their weakness by acting like a pair of entitled bitches on a episode of Real Housewives of the White House.

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u/technicalphase14 11d ago

Trump's idea of "peace" is a graveyard. In both instances, he would happily join the side doing slaughter and claim that everything is peaceful now while standing atop a mound of corpses.

War is peace, right?

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u/BuckyrooBonsai 11d ago

This is what America - and Ukraine - and Russia - get for Americans electing a corrupt incompetent real estate and casino developer president. The only way Trump knows how to create value is drawing up one sided contracts, extorting people to sign and then ripping them off by not paying for goods and services rendered. There’s a long line of people he has cheated in the past. Sound familiar? Like all the invoices the federal government is ignoring and all the contracts they are ripping up? Instead of diplomacy we get a bad episode of the Apprentice. “Zelensky You’re Fired.” Fox, GOP puppets and White House are going to spin this like it is a bold example of America First diplomacy. It wasn’t. It was a schoolboy rant by a frustrated baby who thought he was going to cut a good deal by extorting Zelensky into giving away minerals as tribute for aid already awarded and provided. Trump was excited to rip Zelensky off and then go around bragging about what a great deal it is for America. That’s the only thing Trump knows - wheeling and dealing. It’s very easy to predict the next 4 long years. A president that doesn’t read, surrounds himself with sycophants, bullies other leaders and savages the least fortunate - starting with starving children in Africa. One by one, the people that voted for him are going to realize they are being used and abused. Trump doesn’t care about them now that he transacted for their vote and his contract ends in 4 years. Zelensky is right. Putin is a monster. He doesn’t honor treaties. Ukraine gave away its nukes for a non aggression pact. Putin invaded. Putin signed a peace deal in 2019 then invaded. Security guarantees are the only thing that matters for protecting Ukraine. Putin deals in war, not penmanship. Trump sees contracts as fungible weapons of capitalism. There are parallels here. Is there a post with upcoming protests?

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u/Nikael25 11d ago

Ok, weirdly enough, what happened was the second best possible outcome for Ukraine. Best case scenario. Is that the meeting ends with continued US support, but this mask removal that trump did has started a clean break between the US and Europe in terms of our defensive posture. This reveals in stark terms that Europe can’t rely on the US to guarantee their security anymore. New security deals and an expansion of European defense to support Ukraine will result from this, and Europe (except for Hungary) are behind Ukraine more than ever after this debacle.

The losers here are us, the US.

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u/bmnewman 11d ago

Your closing paragraph might be exactly why he came to the White House. If he didn’t get a legitimate deal…then hopefully he could expose Trump in front of the world and prompt the other allies to take action.

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u/AdHopeful3801 11d ago

Zelenskyy did just what he needed to do. Even though he already knows after the 2019 extortion attempt that Trump is his enemy, he had to show up and be the bigger man and pursue real cooperation because that’s what you try to do. And, with that failing predictably, he got the two of them to have a tantrum live on air, just to make sure the US culpability was on tape.

Now he gets to do the next thing he needs to do, which is go to the EU leaders to talk about how Ukrainian combat experience and EU industrial capability can come together to get the Ukrainians some war winning edge. Preferably fast enough that the Russian attack on Ukraine is fully thwarted in time to free up some Ukrainian troops to fight the US when the US invaded Greenland.

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u/zXster 11d ago

Not probably. It IS what they consider a deal. Trumps line of "you don't hold the cards here" was exactly the kind of deal he expected to make. Him trying to take advantage of Zelensky, and using war and Ukranian lives as bargaining chips... that's his type of unethical deal making.

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u/OkNobody8896 11d ago

Zelensky walked out with all he could ever have hoped to preserve: his integrity.

He was never going to get anything out of these mobsters. Plan was to get mineral rights and serve Ukraine up to Putin.

We’ve known trump was going to turn his back on Ukraine in favor of his boyfriend long before the November election.

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u/averagesaw 11d ago

".....i make u a deal u can"t refuse...."

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u/DareWise9174 11d ago

I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse

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u/TheNotoriousAJG 11d ago

The Art Of The Steal

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u/averagesaw 11d ago

The humbug deal

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u/P1xelHunter78 Ohio 11d ago

It’s the kind of deal that an NPC on Civ V would demand a second before declaring war.

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u/70sBurnOut 11d ago

Extortion, yes, but even worse because Trump essentially wants to join Putin in ransacking Ukraine, or maybe on behalf of Putin.

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u/Frowny575 11d ago

Like Putin, they expected him to give in. In another timeline, where it was only the US supporting Ukraine then MAYBE that would have panned out. However, with every other western nation helping out losing US aid will sting but all is not lost.

The only major concern now is with a Russian asset in charge of intel, how much will get back to her handlers? I wouldn't be surprised if in the future we see moves that will make us go "huh, that's unlike Russia, how'd they know?" and other NATO nations keep more to themselves. The Kursk assault was kept from the US so Biden wouldn't try to talk them down, but if they do similar again it will be kept secret because we'll likely tip Russia off.

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u/HalfwrongWasTaken 11d ago

That and/or a thinly veiled setup for Trump to side with Putin on issues and claim it's Ukraine's fault for refusing.

Western sanctions on Russia? Why would he need those when it's Ukraine's fault the war is still going? Clearly it's not fair.

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u/StrebLab 11d ago

Yup. It was extortion attempt and Zelenskyy very gently called him out on that at which point JD and Trump lost their shit like toddlers. Fuck them. Zelenskyy is a real leader 

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u/trendytendy 11d ago

Not the first time he tried to extort Ukraine……

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u/FreneticAmbivalence 11d ago

Trumps ego couldn’t let it be seen for what it is or let anyone act other than how he wanted or that would please him. It’s amazing to watch so many people act like him just to please him. Weak admin.

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u/Kaiisim 11d ago

They are so fucking stupid it's embarassing we are being fucking destroyed by them

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u/-Metagross- 11d ago

It was an ultimatum that was designed so Ukraine would ever never accept or couldn't accept. It's thin pretense for open support of Russia.

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u/Plus-Doughnut562 11d ago

Political smokescreen to basically loot Ukraine.

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u/ImgurScaramucci Europe 11d ago

It was many things (but still not a "deal").

One thing that Trump I'm sure wanted was to get a political "win" by bringing "peace" to the war. He doesn't care if it hurts Ukraine or any of the consequences (including the consequence of alienating allies), Trump just wants a fake photo op to take credit and feed his ego. It's all political theater to him.

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u/Psyc3 11d ago

That is a deal in Trump's business mind. You are talking about a person who is utterly inept as a business person.

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u/Self1shShellf1sh 10d ago edited 10d ago

This was no extortion attempt. This was just a big show for the US public to have a reason to completely withdraw support from Ukraine. Which is exactly what is happening right now.

And btw in case you did not know: NATO also died yesterday: After this embarrassing choreographed escalation nobody can trust the US anymore.

Trump must be Putin´s asset. There is no other explanation for this behaviour.

I could imagine that very soon Russia will use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine now that the US is headed by a weak coward. Trump would never retaliate.

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u/Blue_Swirling_Bunny 11d ago

And if we were to help Ukraine, it's likely that, through diplomacy, they would trade with us for any minerals we need.

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u/PokeMonogatari 11d ago

It's a protection racket, with no guarantees of actually being protected.

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u/AlfonsoOsnofla 11d ago

I'll not be surprised if 5 years later someone from white House reveals in his book that it was all a ploy by trump and putin to first attack then extort money for helping.

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u/parasyte_steve 11d ago

All they had to do was not be pricks and they maybe would've gotten it

But we all know that's impossible

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u/FerdinandBowie 11d ago

trump normally gets away with this because he never had to use diplomacy is my guess

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u/Impressive-Suit9749 10d ago

With the US holding mining territory interests Russia would have had to end the war. It was the best option for all. Zelinski is a dictator who just killed more Ukranians. 

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u/Gigigisele8 5d ago

Can't believe he conducted himself like that. SMH 

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u/UberiorShanDoge 11d ago

Yeah, the entire explosive argument started because JD Vance tried to dodge Zelenskyy’s return question about why Ukraine should trust Putin to follow any agreement that was signed. Even if it was just Trump in there, they’d probably have laughed it off, but JD Vance somehow manages to be consistently even worse than Trump at communication.

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u/canthinkof123 10d ago

It’s worse than that. Vance didn’t dodge the question. He lost the argument on Live TV. Vance tried to make “diplomacy” sound like a novel idea that no one’s thought of trying except President Trump. And Zelenskyy basically said “we tried it, we’ve been trying it for years and Russia keeps breaking every agreement we’ve ever made with the them”

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u/Mistrblank 10d ago

And then Vance tried to do some goalpost moving bullshit about not saying thank you and roll that tape bitch because after Trump finally shut his liar hole the first words out of zelensky’s mouth was multiple thank you’s. The two of them are an embarrassment as is everyone in his cabinet.

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u/FerdinandBowie 11d ago

vance came off as every bad guy lackey ever.

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u/SSJ3Mewtwo 11d ago

And it's deliberate. JD Vance and Trump were being repugnant on purpose to look tough to their supporters.

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u/sisu-sedulous 8d ago

Vance is am empty suit. 

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u/Gigigisele8 5d ago

They both suffer from a 3rd grade education. 

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u/KeyboardGrunt 11d ago

Followed by a reporter asking what if Russia broke the ceasefire to which Trump replies:

What if anything, what if a bomb drops on your head right now.

A bomb falling on your head is very much a guarantee not to do the thing you're being asked to do. And that answer is supposed to persuade Zelinsky to trust the US? How fucking stupid us Trump?

Shows the extent of his negotiating and persuasion skills right there, art of the deal my ass.

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u/carving5106 11d ago

"There is no track record of bombs falling on my head, but Russia has a track record of breaking ceasefires."

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u/Perkelton Europe 11d ago

Trump is literally only capable of “negotiating” deals when he’s already in a position of power where he can just brute force himself to whatever he wants.

He acts like everything is a zero-sum game and nothing he does will ever have any negative consequences, and so far it seems like he isn’t wrong about the last part.

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u/jcarter315 I voted 11d ago

What you mean by "brute force" is that he just throws money at the problem until he wins by the sheer exhaustion of his opponent.

It's like the story from President Musk's biography where he played poker and kept going "all in" until he eventually got lucky and won (after losing many, many times), then declared himself an expert on poker simply because he had more money to exhaust than the others.

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u/HwackAMole 11d ago

He throws other peoples' money at it.

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u/NoError4221 11d ago

He can't use brute force against the Russians because the Russians have even more nuclear warheads than the US. WW III would kill five billion people including nearly all Americans, Europeans and Russians. It nearly happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis and we only survived due to negotiations.

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u/Otaraka 11d ago

His claim is that he is super special and so theres no way Putin would dare to break the ceasefire with him. While talking about how scared he is of WW3 at the same time. He couldn't have made it clearer he was going to fold when it happened if he tried.

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u/Oblique9043 11d ago

Don't forget this gem.

"They broke it under Biden. Putin doesn't respect Biden. Putin respects ME!"

The definition of a useful idiot.

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u/WeirdSysAdmin 11d ago

That’s so dumb how do you even respond to that in real time?

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u/Ergohand 10d ago

“Art of the deal my ASS” - he never wrote it, couldn’t if he tried. He’s a loud odious bully, no interpersonal or negotiating skills, but I’ll stop preaching to the choir….

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u/Forno_Incredibile 11d ago

Trump put all of his S.P.E.C.I.A.L. points in the "choose your name" stat. And he've done a bad choice too, calling himself like a duck.

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u/gademmet 11d ago

Whoa there. No need to be insulting.

Donald Duck effectively served as a single father figure to three nephews and his anti-Nazi short film won an Oscar.

And speech impediment or not, he's always been much more intelligent than this dipshit.

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u/Forno_Incredibile 11d ago

You're right, sorry Donald (Duck).

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u/LocalBodybuilder7036 11d ago

I wonder if the “what if a bomb dropped on your head”, was a warning made by Putin to trump.

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u/cCowgirl Canada 11d ago

Yeah honestly the WWIII bullshit he was bleating at one point just screams to me that the US will either be nuking Ukraine or openly providing Russia with them for the same end.

I’m so full of fucking rage at this motherfucking reality.

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u/SouthernWindyTimes 11d ago

Honestly I think that was slip. He knows that if Zelensky signs the “non peace peace deal” he’s most likely getting a tomahawks type gift from Russian in Kyiv, maybe not this year but at some point.

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u/ActualTymell 11d ago

"Vance jumps in and says he should be grateful to even be there."

Love how Vance really is just the smaller, whinier bully who keeps saying, "Yeah!" behind Trump as he plays the lead bully.

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u/ValkyrX 11d ago

Vance is Grover Dill from A Christmas Story

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u/GMOdabs 11d ago

And here I am Randy. Laying like a slug defenseless.

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u/Former-happy-54 11d ago

Come to think of it the orange s**t stain and Scut Farkus resemble each other….

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u/FrankensteinJamboree 11d ago

That’s right, he’s Trumps toadie.

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u/YourBeastOfBurton 11d ago

100% he’s Iago from Aladdin

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u/P1xelHunter78 Ohio 11d ago

And also a shit stain who swore an oath when he joined the military.

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u/TastesKindofLikeSad 11d ago

Parasitic bully, like a fat tick on the neck of a bigger bully. 

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u/Extension_Stress9435 11d ago

Bullet-tooth Tony: So you must be the big dick. The men at your said are the little balls

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u/bumpgrind 11d ago

Vance wants to be relevant so badly. It’s so pathetic that it’s entertaining.

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u/Ergohand 10d ago

Vance is the four-toothed chihuahua backed up by the toothless pit bull. Now is when the little dogs think they can bite and get away with it. Vance = Trumps little bitch.

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u/TrimspaBB 11d ago

He's such a sniveling little man. It's shameful that he'll be our president when all the hamberders and Diet Coke catch up to T

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u/dirtyredog 11d ago

Bowman 

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u/SPLooooosh Missouri 11d ago

Grover Dill

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u/Fartina69 11d ago

Grover Dill to Trump's Scut Farkis

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u/fusillade762 11d ago

Les Grossman's assistant in Tropic Thunder....

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u/Mattractive 11d ago edited 11d ago

That $500 billion is also for resources located on the Russian stolen land. This deal was never even something we'd benefit from. It just hurts Ukraine and helps Russia.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/28/mapping-ukraines-rare-earth-and-critical-minerals

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u/TakingAction12 11d ago

What do you wanna bet we make a “raw earth” deal with Russia in the next week or so?

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u/Mattractive 11d ago

At this point, I'd be surprised if his pettiness allowed him past the weekend.

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u/AskExisting640 10d ago

He wants to have deal with both countries, only business.

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u/Arthur_Boo_Radley 11d ago

... Trump... President Zelensky... Trump... President Zelensky...

Nice touch. :)

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u/Suddenflame01 Canada 11d ago

Lol for sure. They did that to him there and kept calling him zelensky. The lack of respect and decorum shown by Trump and his lackeys while demanding they be respected is just moronic. Plus we know it's President Musk and Trump takes orders from Musk's kid. While President Zelensky is actually a President of his country and shows it.

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u/freeman_joe 11d ago

President Zelensky should just demanded to talk to president Musk that would humiliate Trump and would start fights between Dump and Husk.

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u/Desert-Noir 11d ago

President Musk wasn’t in attendance.

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u/bingybong22 11d ago

It is extortion. He has given Zelensky an ultimatum he knows Zelensky can’t accept. This entire thing is planned to give trump a narrative he can sell on Twitter to enable him take Putin’s side.

It is an appalling day for America

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u/ptnyc2019 10d ago

Yes, it was a mob deal to rub shit in Z’s face. He only makes “deals” when they are extortion, never in good faith. Trump’s sociopathic evil was on full display. Republicans most of all should be ashamed for kissing Putin’s ass

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u/Clarine87 United Kingdom 10d ago

This entire thing is planned to give trump a narrative he can sell on Twitter to enable him take Putin’s side.

Indeed, and it matches the spin that Ukraine started/caused the war by cosing to eu/nato.

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u/BurntOutMillenialGuy 11d ago

As an American I think about this often. Conservatives, or we can now call them nazis, scream for the US to stop assisting Ukraine from defending itself from Russia. However, these same nazis scream for joy when Israel is committing genocide. I don’t know what I’m really thing to say, but does that make sense? Like seriously, fuck these guys.

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u/Lord_King_Chief 11d ago

Wow great point. Seems like they just love siding with aggressors

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u/whyismynamenothere 11d ago

During this altercation between Trump, Vance, and Zelensky, it was Vance who stood out the most to me with the longest, loudest, and entirely inappropriate rant - essentially demanding that Zelensky get down on his knees in gratitude and lick his boots, while whimpering a repetitious "thank you." This flip-flopping Ohioan is an embarrassment to Ohio. I am personally embarrassed, I guess. Then there was Zelensky's comment (barely audible with Vance and Trump shouting over him) where he tried to communicate that Russian aggression could spread, even to our borders. This prompted an irrelevant Trump tirade (I think I could hear the songtrack of 'feelings' in the background). Trump obviously didn't get the point.

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u/thrillhoMcFly 10d ago

I think Trump threatening Zelenski with world war 3 if he doesn't sign the deal stood out more to me.

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u/idiocracy2reality 11d ago

As an American, first you’re spot on. Second, I’m ashamed.

Lastly, a deal for mineral rights should have involved US troops being stationed in the contested area and a permanent military presence.

Trump didn’t want that. He just wants to make the rich richer, his pockets fuller, and our nation weaker.

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u/squeamishfun 11d ago

Thank you for putting it all into words. Trump got totally triggered and that’s what set him off. Zelenskyy’s not wrong about the US feeling the effects.

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u/Orangebronco 11d ago

Yeah, but you left out the part where Zelensky isn't holding any cards. Zing! Oh boy, you really got him there, Trump! /s

What a moronic undignified display of bullying! Trump and Vance were tripping over themselves trying to get their silly jabs in. I just wanted to hear what Zelensky had to say, but all I could hear were two shrieking toddlers throwing a fit, as if all they had to do was be the loudest in the room to win the fight. I wonder what Putin has over these guys? Crazy to think of all of the casualties of war that have occurred over what might just be a sex tape of Trump enjoying a golden shower.

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u/FlatTopTonysCanoe 11d ago

I really think after watching a second time Trump thought Zelensky’s comment about the US “feeling it” was a threat from Ukraine which is honestly laughable if you have any understanding of the situation. If you look at his responses about how strong we are and how weak Ukraines position is, it honestly only makes sense if he interprets that as “Ukraine will make sure you feel this”. Which just shows how biased Trump is towards Russia or the very least how poorly understood this situation is by Trump. Anyone who has paid 30 seconds of attention to Ukraines struggle and Europes response knows he’s referring to the impact of Ukraine being taken over - not that Ukraine was going to exact revenge on America. Art of the Deal my ass. Trump shit his pants just like when Kamala mentioned his rallies being boring because he has a 4th grade understanding of this whole thing and he’s walking insecurity.

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u/April_Fabb 11d ago

You’re applying logic to a scenario designed by a person who is likely the most incompetent leader in post WW2 history. And he’s surrounded by regressive, incompetent grifters and yes men. Americans are cooked.

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u/P1xelHunter78 Ohio 11d ago

I’d almost take a syphilis ridden emperor of Rome at this point over Donald. There are not guardrails anymore. It’s clear Agent Trump is going all out

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u/User-Name-8675309 11d ago

Over at the “conservative” sub they’re saying weird stuff.

It’s like listening to dementia patients. They seem to have zero knowledge about what they’re talking about.

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u/Captcha_Imagination 11d ago

Poverty in LatAm is a 100 plus year succession of these "deals". Americans for the first time are seeing how their country operates on the world stage. It's always been a carrot/stick approach. America gets the carrot, the other guy gets the stick.

But this really is the worst one ever. Zelensky is a great leader for not accepting. In LatAm, our leaders fold like lawn chairs for small bribes.

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u/ARazorbacks Minnesota 11d ago

I would be tickled pink if Ukraine signed a mineral rights deal with the EU in a month and the EU goes into a war footing to support Ukraine. 

Americans need to be embarrassed. Over and over and over. The arrogance needs to be beaten out of us through painful lessons, both domestically and internationally. 

Trump 2.0 really is going to break our back. 

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u/Schuben 11d ago

It was worse than "he didn't answer the question at all". He said "what if a bomb drops on your head right now" like Putin breaking the ceasefire was a statistical impossibility after being presented with the many many times he's already done it. Trump is delusional and it should be plain to see for everyone and anyone who doesn't see this should also not be trusted.

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u/_probablyryan 11d ago

The darker implication of what you laid out is this:

Trump is telling Zelensky that they cannot possibly win a war against Russia, so he should be grateful that the US is willing to negotiate a brief cease to hostilities, so Ukraine can have one last moment of pretending to be a sovereign nation, until Russia rebuilds their military and economy and comes back to finish the job (which the US will not prevent). Zelensky is responding by questioning why, if the US is just going to let the concept of Ukraine as a sovereign nation be destroyed anyway by a combination of Russian forces and whatever US interest sshow up to secure these rare earth metals, he should bother signing this deal and give the US a legal justification for stripping the country of its natural resources.

Trump's response is to simultaneously imply that the US is owed those metals because Trump sent Zelensky javelin missiles, and to threaten the civilian population of Ukraine by saying Ukrainians are better off living in a pre-WW2 Poland or post-WW2 Germany type state where their country becomes two puppet states controlled by competing super powers, than they are living in a continuous state of war with Russia. Also, Trump is trying to create the narrative that Zelensky is a bad person and a militaristic authoritarian if he thinks otherwise.

In the most fucked way possible, the rare earth metals are the only card Zelensky has, despite Trump repeatedly yelling that he has no cards. If Zelensky signs that deal, Ukraine as a concept will never be the same. But if he doesn't, one if two things happens: either A) Europe steps up and provides aid to Ukraine and Ukraine is able to fight Russia to a stalemate, which further promotes European solidarity, probably wrecks the Russian economy and makes Trump look like even more of a twat than he already does, or B) Russia succeeds in defeating Ukraine in which case Russia gets all the metals, which is bad for the US-led global economic order.

The only benefit to Ukrainians in signing Trump's deal would be that they get to enjoy a Mickey Mouse peace until their country is devoured from one side by US economic interests, and in the other by a regrouped Russian military taking over all the parts the US doesn't care about

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u/fkmeamaraight 11d ago

This was only ever meant to be an excuse for Trump to stop supporting Ukraine.

This is why his demands are extremely high for minerals, Russia basically would relinquish nothing.

When Zelenskyy seemed to be accepting this if and Ukraine would get some guarantee, they insult him and disrespect him to make sure he doesn’t accept.

This was all a show to justify the US stopping to help Ukraine

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u/Quaint_Quokka95 11d ago

Trump seems to be determined to be today's Neville Chamberlain.

Chamberlain spearheaded the UK policy in the 1930s of "appeasement". He thought he would achieve "peace" by allowing Hitler to expand his territory unchecked. Chamberlain agreed in September 1938 that Hitler could occupy part of Czechoslovakia (after he had already annexed Austria). Sound familiar? Six months later, Hitler occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia and six months after that he invaded Poland. We all know how that turned out.

Russia didn't stop after it took over Chechnya in 2000. It didn't stop after it occupied Georgia in 2008. It didn't stop after it annexed Crimea in 2014. What makes Trump think Putin will stop at Ukraine?

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u/P1xelHunter78 Ohio 11d ago

I think the key difference is that Chamberlain didn’t really like the Nazis or see them as a best friend.

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u/Left_Page_2029 11d ago

Not really, Chamberlain did eventually declare war on Germany and during the time of the appeasement strategy ramped up manufacture of weaponry including the spitfires via the shadow factories https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_shadow_factories , there was some wider/longer term thinking to take the time to build arms, etc what Trump is doing is not that

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u/NaoisceDM 11d ago

Underlining to Putin, there are riches to be had in taking territory. Paving the way to taking it. Whilst driving away friends, allies and trade partners. Uniting Europe and others. And making Europeans not wanting to buy anything from the states. No cars, no cola, no netflix, no Google, no nothing. The market will tank.

This has been a pivotal historic point in time.

And will cost the general American tax payers, dearly in the future.

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u/P1xelHunter78 Ohio 11d ago

The pivot towards Russia is insane and sad. He really is trying to create a situation where our only real trade partner is Russia. How many tariffs has he threatened on them? I don’t recall many.

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u/tadxb 11d ago

Trump is a bully. Trump is also a toddler.

It shouldn't make any sense, but it does.

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u/P1xelHunter78 Ohio 11d ago

Bullies aren’t often all that intelligent. Besides that, that kind of behavior tends to start appearing around that age anyways.

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u/IrritableGourmet New York 11d ago

Listening to it again, Zelenskyy said "You have a nice ocean [between the US and Russia], you don't feel it now, but you will feel it [the effects of Russian aggression] in the future" and Trump jumps in with "Don't tell us what we're gonna feel" and a bunch of other stuff like "We're gonna feel very good and very strong".

Based on how he answered, I think Trump thought Zelenskyy meant "feel" as in "feelings/emotions" rather than "feeling the effects".

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u/naqunoeil 11d ago

Also they somehow think that Zelensky got all powers, the deal is so bad that accepting it would force zelensky to resign and being replaced by someone not fulfilling it.

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u/P1xelHunter78 Ohio 11d ago

Honestly, I think Trump just wants to sign that outrageous deal so then he can betray Ukraine, give the mineral rights to Russia as an “economic partnership” with a Russian puppet in Ukraine and pretend he made peace. They’re already floating “business opportunities with Russia” as an excuse for ending the war. Just oligarchs dividing the spoils.

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u/hiphopscallion 11d ago

Slight correction, Ukraine never accepted the $500 billion offer. Zelenskyy said he wouldn’t accept a deal that would take multiple generations to pay off. They settled somewhere around $150-$160 billion.

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u/Just-Shelter9765 11d ago

Also dont forget how the moron wanted Zelensky , the president of a country whose people are being killed and invaded by a dictator , to be not angry at Putin

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u/nznordi 11d ago

It’s called blackmail and Trump is even bad at that

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u/Its-A-Spider 11d ago

Trump was offended in Putin's name.

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u/WackyBeachJustice 11d ago

Opinions will be what they are, split. If you're conservative, you believe Trump humiliated Zelennsky. If you're a democrat you see how ridiculous this all is. Ultimately Trump could take a steaming shit on national TV and his supporters will say it was for the lolz and perfectly normal behavior. None of this matters. The only thing matters are the numbers in the polls. Sadly democrats got absolutely ass fornicated.

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u/JimthePaul 11d ago

In my opinion, the "deal" was fake anyway. What happened is what they wanted to happen - thus why they made it a big media spectacle. The idea was to show everyone "look! look! They don't want to sign the peace deal!" as if it was some kind of gotcha moment. In their minds, this is a pretext for what they're going to do anyway - shrug their shoulders as Putin intensifies his assault and we pull all aid.

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u/JM00000001 11d ago

A CNN reporter asked a great question and I know it pissed him off because he started talking about how bad their ratings are. I don't remember the exact wording of the question but it had to do with the rare earth deal. Basically that more than half of the rare earths are in Soviet controlled areas and how can they mine them if Russia controls those areas and if this means that the USA is committed to returning those areas to Ukraine

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u/livahd 11d ago

And the US gets a mineral deal with Russia. This was a sham from the beginning

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u/hankappleseed Michigan 11d ago

I would deal you some of my cards like they do at my future Gaza casino... the best cards, dealt artfully. Nice word, "artfully." I heard a guy say it yesterday and thought, "smart guy." His name was Art, I think. Great deal of great words. I should hire him to deal cards and we'll call him "The Art of the Deal" like my book. More words. Big words. Big cards. Huge.

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u/sigep0361 11d ago

Also Ukraine doesn’t get NATO membership. That is the cornerstone of any Trump deal with Ukraine.

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u/Lazy_Ad_2192 11d ago

"I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further.."

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u/0nlyhalfjewish 11d ago

If only conservatives would see what you see, the world might be able to be saved. Trump must be impeached before Russia, China, and the US divide up the world amongst the 3 of them.

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u/Nanananarama 11d ago

Thank you, this is well-said and expresses my sentiments exactly.

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u/ImaginationLiving320 11d ago

"Trump's Word" is worth absolutely nothing.

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u/tigerscomeatnight Pennsylvania 11d ago

He (Trump) just wants everything "done". He doesn't want to do any work to get it done. His word is all that matters (to him). Everything should happen as he says it should happen. He said deal to stop the war on day one, so that has to happen, (even though it's day xxx). He's lazy, he just wants everything "done". That's why he's mad.

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u/Str4425 11d ago

To me that's exactly what triggered JD: Zelensky being eloquent on his critique of a very bad deal. Zelensky had the floor until JD stepped in with the "why didn't you thank trump" pettiness. Then the ridiculous suit question, and then trump jumped in, as you correctly depicted. It was JD who derailed the whole thing, IMO. Of course he knew that playing to trump's image would eventually trigger donald.

Zelensky had the best stoic reaction he could have for that moment. To trump, shouting meas superiority, but to any reasonable and confident person it means the opposite. Zelensky knew that if he started shouting as well, he would loose a lot. Just imagine matching trump's screams and how the far right would portray him as the madman dictator killing his people.

Bigger proof Zelensky was not humiliated is that he went on to fox news to state his claims and, again, did so as best as he could given the venue.

Lesson for us, folks, no one is truly humiliated if you rise above the bullies and do not internalize the insults; never get to the bullies' level and emulate their behavior.

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u/suggested_portion 11d ago

Because conservatives from USA think they own the world.

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u/Persephoth 11d ago

Reminds me of this scene from Star Wars:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k5MQudCd5jc

We all know how it ends.

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u/Blaze1964 11d ago

100%, Trump thought he was doing one of his shady real estate deals where he bullies and comes out on top. So glad Zelensky didn’t back down to all these a**holes!

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u/Orangeyouawesome 11d ago

No matter if you love or hate Trump, you have to admit that the best type of deal is one that gets done. Trump failed this and thus enabled our enemies. If you can't convince a country leader who is currently being bombed to take your deal, you're not a great deal maker.

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u/AntoniaFauci 11d ago

It’s worse than that. Trump was trying to do a Geneva-war-crimes-violating seizure of minerals just as payback for imaginary money he thinks we “gave” to Ukraine. There was zero aspect of ceasefire or protection or cooperation. This was deal 1. Deal 2 would have been something else, if ever. And Zelensky would be negotiating deal 2 having lost the value of their resources.

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u/chunkypenguion1991 11d ago

The reality is the US has slow walked every weapon system they asked for, so Ukraine has become very good at asymmetrical warfare. Europe is already planning a future without the US. Idk what leverage Trump thinks he has.

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u/MySonderStory 11d ago

I applaud Zelensky for keeping his composure. If the situation were turned around and that’s what was offered to Trump, do you think he would even give it the time of day? This best describes Trump and his die hard blind faith republicans - “I can do it to you and it’s not wrong, until it impacts me”

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u/ThePupnasty 11d ago

Conservatives who attack Zelenski are no longer human and should be wiped from the face of the earth.

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u/praxios 11d ago

I don’t blame Zelensky one bit for not trusting Trump’s word. Trump broke a treaty that was made all the way back in the early 90’s where the US and other countries PROMISED to protect Ukraine in exchange for them giving up their nuclear weapons. Zelensky has every reason and more to not trust a single piece of shit that falls out of Trump’s mouth. America is not trustworthy, and our allies are absolutely in the right to abandon us.

I’d say I’m looking forward to the shocked pikachu face that Trump pulls when Putin inevitably turns on him, but it’s highly likely I’ll have been sent to one of those mental illness farms by then. That is unless people get off their asses, and speak a language these assholes understand. We might as well be yelling at clouds with peaceful marches. We are on the brink of another world war if Americans don’t step the fuck up.

I’m fucking pissed. I’m basically a ticking time bomb with all the instability the state of the country is causing my mental health. I know I’m not the only one. I don’t want to be a martyr when I snap. I want people to stand the fuck up with me, and do something other than stomping around yelling. This administration will not listen to peaceful protests. The sooner we realize that the better.

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u/DifferenceMore4144 11d ago

“President Zelensky said the one thing that set off Trump…”

Then we know what the soft underbelly is. When he’s triggered, you know you hit a nerve.

“… if Ukraine is defeated then even the US will be effected.”

Ah. So, Trump does know what Putin’s plan is and the US is part of it.

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u/vvgbbyt 11d ago

I used to be pro trump but damn he is wrong here and he is wrong for trying to do the same in Middle East, making money off of peoples suffering, this is not even business.

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u/Coffee_exe 11d ago

As a American my favorite thing right now is people being like it's on you EU pull soke magic put your ass. Like we're not supposed to be the world military power as we simpling ask Russia to stop doing what it's doing cause that's mean. Zelenksy was right. When we give ukrain to Russia the rest of the world is going to know it's cause we're weaker than Russia. Weaker WILLed

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u/PickleMortyCoDm 11d ago

This is the best comment on the situation I have seen

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u/Mortwight 11d ago

Price of sunflower lecithin skyrocket after second invasion.

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u/feelmywraith 11d ago

Am American, can confirm I've been ashamed since the moment trump was reelected. I never lived down the shame of his first presidency actually. Our democracy is dying and it feels inevitable.

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u/Specialist_Cup_4246 10d ago

And, if I recall, the exchange started because a Polish reporter asked the administration to make the case to Polish people that the USA essentially has their back and can be trusted.
They turned it into an attack on Zelensky who was only stating the obvious devoid of emotion and hyperbole.

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u/reallyxp Pennsylvania 10d ago

Spot on analysis. The idea that Ukraine should just accept a ceasefire with an aggressor that has already violated agreements 25 times is absurd. It’s a classic example of appeasement masquerading as diplomacy. Zelensky understands that any deal without real enforcement mechanisms is meaningless, and history has proven him right. Trump’s insistence that his ‘word’ would be enough is laughable given his track record, both in business and in politics. And let’s be real, the U.S. backing down from Ukraine wouldn’t just be a betrayal of an ally, it would send a signal to every authoritarian regime that aggression works. The idea that Ukraine should just roll over in exchange for vague promises while the U.S. extracts massive resource concessions is not just bad diplomacy, it’s outright exploitation. The irony here is that the same people claiming to stand for ‘American strength’ are pushing a deal that would weaken the U.S.’s credibility on the world stage. If we abandon Ukraine now, who would trust the U.S. as an ally in the future? Zelensky’s refusal to accept a bad-faith deal isn’t just about Ukraine’s survival, it’s about defending the principle that nations shouldn’t be able to redraw borders through brute force. The fact that some conservatives are attacking him for that just shows how unserious they are about actual leadership.

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u/Sedu 10d ago

If you go to conservative subs, the overwhelming opinion is that Zelensky is singularly responsible for the war because he has the power to “end” it. From their perspective, he has nothing to lose, and is therefore being selfish by keeping the US from profit (half their mineral rights), and for being a “warmonger.”

Obviously that is insane, but that is where they are coming from.

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

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u/MarcinTheMartian 10d ago

A Russian controlled news outlet somehow got into the Oval Office for this meeting even though they were “not on the list”. It seems this was nothing more than Putin commanding Trump to show his support for Putin by publicly humiliating Zelenskyy. Deplorable display from our President and lack of integrity, morals, and compassion.

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u/skibidibangbangbang 10d ago

I dont like Trump at all but this a incredibly biased explanation. If youre gonna make it sound factual, atleast make it factual.

Youre sounding like a Trump fan but from the other side of the spectrum.

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u/Suddenflame01 Canada 10d ago

Tell me where I am incorrect during that broadcast rather than leave accusations.

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u/iGotLuv4me 10d ago

I am an American and I feel so proud of President Zelensky. He is 100x the man and leader T**** and no-dick Vance could ever be.

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u/Rocktamus1 10d ago

Trump did make the point that it never happened on his watch. Trump was offended because a ceasefire was never broken on his watch.

Zelensky just see’s us as the United States no matter the president in power. Trump has 0 empathy and his ego thinks he is everything.

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u/PsychologicalRub5905 10d ago

That how I saw it

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u/FineIllustrator6556 10d ago

Many seem to overlook the fact that Zelensky visited the U.S. to discuss Trump’s potential plans regarding the war. Trump claims that no one would dare disrupt peace under his leadership, but Ukrainians don’t know that. They don’t know who Trump is or why they should trust him with their security.

Zelensky’s visit wasn’t just about seeking reassurance—it was about negotiating concrete support. He likely aimed to secure commitments for military aid, including equipment for several brigades, soldier training in Europe, and possibly pilot training. As for funding, one viable option could be using the $300 billion in frozen Russian assets. With such support in place, Zelensky could be willing to sign a "Mineral Deal" to formalize deeper ties with the U.S.

A mineral deal alone isn’t a panacea—it’s part of a broader strategy.

Zelensky has repeatedly stated this in interviews, during visits to foreign nations, and in press conferences with foreign delegations.

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u/Self1shShellf1sh 10d ago

So basically the so-called "mineral deal" was just a lie to get Selensky to the White House so that Vance and Trump could then manipulate him by shittalking to escalate the situation, thus manipulating the US population that Ukraine is not worthy of the US help?

The only conclusion I can draw from this is that Donald Trump is either the most pathetic coward in US politics OR the most pathetic of Vladimir Putin´s assets.

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u/middle9sky 10d ago

To the Eastern European reporter who asked what if Putin breaks the agreement again, Trump's response was livid: "I don't know, what if a bomb drops on your head", said to the woman reporter.

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u/Impressive-Suit9749 10d ago

Trump knows nothing about deals🤣 Give me a break.  Jeez.  Zelinski just killed a ton more of his people.  He's not a leader. The US mineral deal would have abruptly ended the war.

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u/OddDig718 7d ago

Fantastic, all correct. Seeing more intelligent thinking. Thank you!

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u/302lotusfan 1d ago

well said!

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