International Scandal over Trump and Zelensky: How the US media are reacting
The U.S. media is reporting widely on the dispute at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance. A selection:
01.03.2025, 11:21
SDA
"Washington Post": Trump sounded like Don Corleone
The "Washington Post" wrote in a commentary: "Donald Trump sounded more like Don Corleone (the mafia boss from "The Godfather") than a US president on Friday. (...) Treating allies less kindly than adversaries shows naivety about the threat a revanchist Russia poses to the Western world, including Nato. (...) Trump behaves as if he is on the side of the authoritarian aggressor rather than the democratic victim. (...)
Regrettably, Selensky took the bait and became forceful. (...) Nevertheless, Zelensky is right that America may regret having tipped the scales in Putin's favor. However well-intentioned his discussion may have been, it has undermined his negotiating position.
Trump, for his part, should recognize the big picture. If he wants to avoid World War III, he should heed the lessons of World War II. Appeasing dictators does not work. (...) The US president should try to be as rude to Putin as he was to Zelensky on Friday."
"Wall Street Journal": Putin wins
The conservative "Wall Street Journal" headlined a commentary with "Putin wins the Trump-Selensky spectacle in the Oval Office". It said:
"Why did the vice president try to provoke a public fight? (...) Vance reprimanded Selenskyj as if he were a child late for dinner. (...) This was not the behavior of a would-be statesman.
Zelensky would have been wiser to defuse tensions by thanking the US again and deferring to Trump. There is little point in correcting lore in front of Trump if you ask him for help at the same time. But like the war, Selenskyj didn't start this exchange in the Oval Office. Should he tolerate an extended public denigration of the Ukrainian people, who have been fighting a war for survival for three years? (...)
When it comes to Ukraine, it is in the US interest to stop Putin's imperial project to rebuild a lost Soviet empire without US soldiers ever having to fire a shot. That core interest hasn't changed, but massacring Ukraine in front of the whole world will make it harder to achieve."
"New York Times": Unprecedented public confrontation
The "New York Times" headlined a report: "Trump Massacres Zelensky in Fiery White House Exchange". The newspaper wrote:
"U.S. relations with Ukraine erupted in a storm of acrimony on Friday as President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance massacred Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an explosive, televised exchange in the Oval Office, abruptly cutting short a visit intended to coordinate a peace plan.
In a fiery public confrontation unlike any between a U.S. president and a foreign head of state in modern times, Trump and Vance castigated Zelensky for not being grateful enough for U.S. support in Ukraine's war with Russia and tried to force him into a peace deal on American-dictated terms."
Fox News: "Some think Europe needs to get involved"
A report by the Trump-affiliated Fox News said: "Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine came to an abrupt halt on Friday after anger erupted during a meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi in the Oval Office.
The world is now wondering how the negotiations will continue and whether the two leaders can improve their relations enough for the US to broker peace. Some say Europe must intervene to end hostilities, while others say Zelensky must either do damage control or resign."
