Trump and Vance’s disgraceful display in the White House was a complete humiliation, not just for Ukraine, but for the United States itself. Playing games with Ukraine’s sovereignty on live television was nothing short of political theater at its most grotesque. Trump, with his usual bombast, suggested that he alone could have prevented the war—an insult to the Ukrainian people who have fought and died for their survival. His claim that Putin wants peace while Zelensky “wants to fight” is either sheer stupidity or a deliberate endorsement of Russian aggression.
Zelensky, in contrast, displayed true leadership by stating the obvious: Russia is Ukraine’s enemy, and Putin is a murderer. The foundation of sovereignty, as Carl Schmitt articulated, is the ability of a nation to define its own enemies. Ukraine has done precisely that. By pretending otherwise, Trump and Vance attempted to erase Ukraine’s subjectivity, treating the country as a pawn in their deranged spectacle of appeasement.
The pathetic attempt to force Zelensky into a position of capitulation was nothing more than a shameless groveling to Putin. Trump, who continues to admire autocrats while undermining democratic allies, revealed his true agenda—handing Ukraine over to Russia in exchange for an illusion of peace that only serves the Kremlin. His entire rhetoric follows the logic of dictatorship: if he alone determines who is an enemy, then sovereignty no longer belongs to Ukraine—it belongs to him. This is nothing less than a betrayal, a calculated effort to push Ukraine into surrender on Putin’s terms.
The Americans orchestrating this farce understand the stakes. They see Ukraine as an inconvenience to their broader geopolitical calculations. The concept of “friction,” drawn from Clausewitz, is clear—conflicts escalate beyond control when left unresolved. Trump and his enablers want to put an artificial stop to the war, not to save Ukraine, but to save themselves from the consequences of prolonged conflict. But war does not end simply because a former U.S. president decides it should. The war will end when Ukraine secures its survival, on its own terms, not by bending to the whims of a man who has never stood for anything other than his own self-interest.
Zelensky’s words on Fox News are not just a reaffirmation of Ukrainian sovereignty; they are a direct repudiation of the cowardice and duplicity on display in the Oval Office. He understands what Trump and Vance refuse to acknowledge: Ukraine does not have the luxury of pretending Putin is a friend. The only way to stop the war is to win it. Capitulation is not peace; it is servitude. And Trump’s disgraceful White House circus only reinforces how little he and his allies care for the sovereignty of nations that refuse to bow to authoritarian rule.
We See What Others Cannot
