Breakthrough deal breaks down in Oval Office
In race to peace, dealmaker Trump falters at the starting gate. Serving US interests will require Trump to listen better, restore key agencies, and let Congress press him to defend Ukraine's freedom.
In what was supposed to be a press availability marking a breakthrough minerals and trade deal between the US and Ukraine, Vice President Vance and, after him, President Trump angrily berated President Zelenskyy of Ukraine with falsehoods circulated by the Russian regime. Zelenskyy alternated visibly between disbelief, tragic disappointment, and righteous anger, but he contained these emotions and responded as forthrightly as he could. The spark that set off the Vice President was Zelenskyy’s factual description of Putin’s violation of the Minsk ceasefire agreements.
Critics warn Trump may have wanted to provoke a disagreement, so he could claim justification in efforts that support Russia’s interests or avoid acknowleding that with Putin, no reliable pact is possible. Former White House staff from both parties suggested the mess was the result of the incompetence of Trump’s staff, and of Trump and Vance putting ego before strategic interest. Zelenskyy later said on Fox News he believes it is important for allies to be “very open and very honest”.

Trump seemed to leave the door open to resuming talks, saying he wants the war to end, though he reiterated a vague demand that Zelenskyy make concessions Ukraine likely cannot make. Secretary of State Marco Rubio walked the tightrope between explaining why Trump felt the need to suspend negotiations and noting that the aim of the minerals deal is to bind the US to Ukraine’s interest. He said the mutual interest provided “a kind of security guarantee”, if not a formal one, and suggested the actual details of a lasting peace would emerge after the minerals deal sets the stage.
Trump and Vance seemed to be siding with, and making the arguments of, a war criminal currently killing innocent civilians in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin’s frequent targeted bombing of Ukraine’s power grid (at least 66 known cases) is aimed, explicitly, at causing as many Ukrainian civilians as possible to freeze to death, in hopes the mass deaths would break the country’s will to fight. It is a crime against humanity and a war crime.
On the same day of the disastrous Oval Office press event, the State Department ended US support for rebuilding Ukraine’s electric grid. The immediate, direct, knowable effect of that decision will be the deaths of innocent Ukrainians as Putin continues to bombard the grid in the depths of winter. Given the action materially aids Putin in committing war crimes, Trump’s order may eventually be determined to have been unlawful. The urgent looming questions are: Who will implement it? Who might sue to stop it? And: What will be the cost in human lives and geopolitical breakdown of allowing Putin to weaponize winter?
Putin immediately resumed the illegal bombardment of civilians, striking a medical facility in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city. Putin’s action means the historical record will clearly show: Trump and Vance accosted Zelenskyy with Kremlin talking points, effectively sabotaging the minerals deal that was supposed to open the door to peace, then took away life-saving infrastructure support, and Putin read this as a green light to commit further atrocities.
Among the strange details behind the events of February 28, Trump revealed for the first time publicly that he spoke to Putin earlier this week. Such calls need to be documented under presidential records law, and for diplomatic and intelligence reasons, and are normally made public when they happen. Trump has in recent months repeatedly refused to speak about how often he speaks with Putin. In September, it was revealed that Elon Musk—who donated $270 million to support Trump’s bid to retake the Presidency and is aggressively trying to dismantle the US government—had been meeting in secret with Putin for at least 2 years.
Roughly 88% of the American people agree with Pres. Zelenskyy that Putin cannot be trusted and should not be treated as a partner. The public record clearly shows this to be the case. Putin has killed his own people, repeatedly, assassinated critics on the territory of America’s European allies, using banned chemical and radiological agents. He has engaged in starvation extortion, spreading hunger to terrorize the world into letting him get away with mass murder. He has repeatedly threatened nuclear first strikes and even bombarded nuclear facilities.
Senator Cory Booker, a leading Democratic member of the Foreign Relations Committee, wrote:
Donald Trump and JD Vance didn't show strength today -- they showed weakness. They belittled a giant and showed just how small they are. A weary warrior was before them. A beleaguered man who has lost thousands of his friends and comrades to the unjust and illegal aggression of an authoritarian leader. They showed no grace; no magnanimity of spirit; no diplomatic acumen. They were small bullies with big titles and they disrespected the history and legacy of the nation they lead.
Former Representative Liz Cheney, a Republican who gave up her seat in Congress to hold Trump accountable for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, wrote:
Generations of American patriots, from our revolution onward, have fought for the principles Zelenskyy is risking his life to defend. But today, Donald Trump and JD Vance attacked Zelenskyy and pressured him to surrender the freedom of his people to the KGB war criminal who invaded Ukraine. History will remember this day— when an American President and Vice President abandoned all we stand for.
Republican Congressman Mike Lawler wrote that Russia is not America’s friend and that it is important for the US to support Ukraine, adding:
Sadly, the only winner of today is Vladimir Putin.
European leaders rushed to pledge ongoing support for Ukraine’s right to remain free. Democratic members of the US Congress denounced Trump’s actions, as did many former national security officials who served under both Republican and Democratic presidents. Republican lawmakers are reported to be expressing horror in private, while expressing adoration for Trump in public. The people of Ukraine are reported to be rallying around Zelenskyy as their tireless defender. Reports from across the US suggest all but the most extreme supporters of Trump want to see Ukraine free of Putin’s terror.
Trump says he wants peace.
That will require he reconnect with Zelenskyy and put some distance between himself and Putin.
It will require listening better than he has so far, and getting comfortable with the fact that there is nothing of value he can or should offer Putin, except maybe a negotiated way to avoid prison.
It will require the President empower not only his Secretary of State, but the entire diplomatic corps, to do what they know how to do, to isolate and contain Putin.
It will require he stop pressuring Republican lawmakers not to pressure him on Ukraine. He needs their pressure, to embody the American people’s righteous demand for a durable peace that keeps Ukraine free.
Achieving a lasting peace will require Trump stop dismantling American soft power, and restore staff, funding, and operations at USAID. They will be needed to make the peace a reality—not only in Ukraine, but as agents of peace and stability around the world. It will require he order the Attorney General to reinstate the task forces and teams that were combatting foreign interference in US politics and enforcing sanctions against Russia.
Driving a hard bargain with Putin requires Trump reverse decisions to disable US intelligence and countermeasures capabilities, like US cyber operations aimed at disrupting and containing Putin’s illegal activities. Dissolving these agencies and teams was a foolish advance concession to Putin.
Ego does not get deals done. Trump and Vance both seem to be paying lip service to this idea, recently, but they do it as a way of demanding near-suicidal concessions from Ukraine. Their behavior toward Ukraine’s president Friday shows they are not ready to steer a viable peace process.
Yesterday, Donald Trump emboldened and enabled Putin, who immediately resumed his three-year campaign of war crimes. Peace will only be possible when he understands that Ukraine has already sacrificed far too much; it cannot be asked for concessions to a lawless aggressor.