A Thankless Job

During the start of the much-anticipated Zelensky-Trump meeting in DC, Trump uttered this phrase: “I am for both Ukraine and Russia.” And “in the course of the meeting, vice-president JD Vance accused Volodymyr Zelenskyy of ‘litigating in front of the American media,’ and said his comments were ‘disrespectful.’ ‘Have you said thank you once?'” Here’s a weird thought. Since the Ukrainians have spent the last three years defending democracy against an aggressor that threatens our allies and the world order, maybe, just maybe, JD Vance should be the one saying thank you? Sadly, things got worse from there and the planned press conference has been canceled. Here’s the latest from The Guardian and CNN.

+ “Imitation and servility aren’t the same thing. Trump and Musk could attempt to undermine American democracy and create a Russian-style power vertical without kowtowing to Putin or abandoning Ukraine. But they haven’t. And while imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, affinity and envy aren’t enough to explain the abruptness and totality of the Trump administration’s adoption of every Russian position.” Garry Kasparov in The Atlantic (Gift Article): The Putinization of America. (Keep in mind that Kasparov wrote this before today’s absolute gift to Putin…)