By: Gabriel León
Almost a month out from what has become an infamous meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. President Donald Trump has demonstrated that the United States is reverting back to its isolationist ways. Or at least, that’s what it seemed like at first glance.
Trump’s political career has always been centered around “America First,” by gutting DEI initiatives that somehow hold back the everyday American from prospering or deporting undocumented immigrants without doing any research on how 99% of them are actually beneficial to the well-being of our nation. Something many Trump supporters often revert back to when asked why they are voting for Trump is that he has constantly promised to put the average American first.
They argue that he would prefer to utilize the money to advance the welfare of American citizens rather than sending it to Ukraine with our hard-earned tax dollars. To that I ask what Trump has done since taking office that has actually benefited the average American citizen?
He certainly has not helped our image abroad by dismantling USAID. But at home, he has not done anything to help the average American citizen. Unless changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico or defying the orders of a federal judge somehow has helped the middle-class American, I can’t think of anything that he has done.
Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy is a perfect culmination of all that the Trump administration stands for. Trump really does not care about putting “America First,” rather he cares about putting who he believes is a friend to Vladimir Putin first. If Trump cared about putting the nation’s best interest first, he wouldn’t have acted in a disparaging manner in his meeting with Zelenskyy in February.
It is in the best interest of the U.S.to remain as the beacon of democracy. Since the beginning of our nation, we have prided ourselves amongst being just that, the protector of freedom.
The U.S. has remained a powerful nation for centuries
In two world wars, a Cold War and into what has become a new, unipolar world order, the U.S. has always tried to stand up for nations that needed backing to protect the free world. Of course, there have been instances that our status has been damaged such as in Vietnam or in Iraq, but what has allowed the U.S. to remain the most powerful and influential nation in the world is the fact that we have always been there to stand up against authoritarianism and autocrats who are exerting their power in dangerous ways.
Instead, what we saw in Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy was the very opposite. In a few weeks, we have gone from being one of Ukraine’s strongest allies to a potential adversary. Is it really in the best interest of the U.S. to shift centuries of foreign policy to fit the agenda of Trump that explicitly supports a dictator in Putin? Of course it is not, but the damage is already done.
So what exactly went down on Feb. 28, 2025, in the Oval Office? And why is it so important?
Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed President Zelenskyy to the White House to discuss options for peace regarding about a war that has been going on since 2022 – when Russia invaded Ukraine and a minerals deal between both nations. The meeting quickly turned sour when Trump and Vance felt disrespected by Zelenskyy’s apparent lack of appreciation for what the U.S. has done for Ukraine.
Trump said to Zelenskyy that his actions may ignite World War III and the Ukrainian president’s were disrespectful.
Vance agreed with Trump’s assessment of Zelenskyy.
“Have you said ‘thank you’ once this entire meeting? No,” Vance said.
So.. What’s the problem?
No one can truly decipher what Zelenskyy was doing to be disrespectful.
I hypothesize the reason behind this aggressive behavior is that Trump wants to portray the idea that Ukraine cannot keep fighting this war without the U.S., even going as far to say that Zelenskyy is “gambling with World War III,” and another world war is only preventable if Ukraine makes a deal with Russia that would likely see them cede some of their rightful territory.
Trump reinforced this, saying, “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out… And if we’re out, you’ll fight it out, and I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.”
Trump went on to express sympathy for Putin, who has “been through a lot,” a radical shift from what U.S. foreign policy was just a few months ago.
The meeting ended with Zelenskyy effectively being kicked out of the Oval Office after Trump had embarrassed himself and the U.S. in the process.
Not even when our greatest enemies visited the Oval Office did a sitting U.S. president verbally assault and then kick out a leader of another country. What is so astounding about this incident is that Trump did it to a president that is supposed to be an ally. Let’s be very clear, Zelenskyy did not invade Putin’s nation, Ukraine was invaded by Russia who had the intent to take Kiev and bring Ukraine under the oppression of Putin’s regime.
Putin’s officials absolutely loved Trump’s treatment of Zelenskyy.
“The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office,” said Dmitry Medvedev, a Kremlin spokesman.
This support has not only come from Russia but also from within the U.S. government.
Rubio said Zelenskyy wasted the administration’s time – Sen. Lindsey Graham added, “[I’ve] never been more proud of the president. I was very proud of JD Vance standing up for our country.”
It must be noted that both Rubio and Graham used to strongly support Ukraine, but when that did not line up with Trump’s agenda anymore, they quickly changed their minds. Rubio and Graham’s sentiment is one that was only shared by the Republicans that have been staunch supporters of President Trump with leaders from the E.U. and plenty of Democrats condemning Trump’s actions.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar brilliantly put into words what much of the free world remains to think.
“And our country thanks HIM [Zelenskyy] and the Ukrainian patriots who have stood up to a dictator, buried their own & stopped Putin from marching right into the rest of Europe,” she said.
It is imperative to note that Zelenskyy has both privately and publicly thanked the U.S. for its continued support to Ukraine in their fight against Putin’s aggression that needed stopping.
Trump’s behavior is a clear demonstration of the direction that he is taking this country both internationally and domestically, down a dark path of deals with people like Putin that will not only be harmful for Americans but also for our nation’s image in the eyes of the free world which stands to be tarnished should this apprehensive behavior continue. We have a long way to go to repair the damage that Trump has done, but hopefully we can repair our image before it is too late.
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