TOI correspondent from Washington: In a diplomatic trainwreck for the ages, Ukraine’s leader Voldymyr Zelenskyy and his delegation were turfed out of the White House without even the courtesy of a lunch, which was ready to be served, after talks with US President Donald Trump and vice-president JD Vance turned toxic in public.
Lunch carts had already rolled in for a scheduled luncheon when a Oval Office tete-e-tete, which usually involves pleasantries in the presence of media before the press is ushered out for more more serious talks, turned explosive in full view of the cameras.
While the norm is to allow TV cameras to capture visuals for a few minutes and for reporters to ask a few questions before formal talks (followed by a more formal press conference), the Trump White House has allowed the media to stay for extended periods (more than 20 minutes in the case of Trump-Modi meeting), ostensibly because Trump loves being on television as much as possible. For the Zelenskyy meeting, the media was there for almost 40 minutes, capturing what turned into a public fiasco during the last ten minutes when Trump and Vance berated and bullied a feisty Zelenskyy.
Things got so heated at one point that Trump forcefully put a hand on Zelenskyy’s arm, appearing to push him to make a point. Adding to the meltdown, a MAGA-supporting reporter snippily asked Zelenskyy why he was not more formally dressed, suggesting his casual attire was offensive to the hosts.
“Why don’t you wear a suit? You’re in the highest level of this country’s office, and you refuse to wear a suit? I just want to see, do you own a suit?” Brian Glenn, a commentator for the Real America’s Voice outlet, asked Zelenskyy, adding, “A lot of Americans have problems with you respecting this office.”
“I will wear costume after this war will finish… Maybe something like yours, yes, maybe something better, I don’t know.” clapped back.
Trump himself, with his obsession over tv ratings, remarked at the end of the spectacle that it would make good television, even as the White House staffers finally asked the media to move out.
But the scheduled formal talks and luncheon never took place. An angry Trump, furious at Zelenskyy’s dogged insistence that Russia’s Vladimir Putin could not be trusted with ceasefire (among other assertions), ended talks that were to conclude with the signing of a rare minerals deal.
The Ukrainian delegation had by moved to a holding room, expecting talks to continue over the scheduled luncheon, for which lunch carts had already arrived. Instead, Trump sent word that they should leave the premises, which the shocked Zelenskyy team eventually did. Trump told the delegation to “Get off my lawn!” screamed a headline in Daily Mail, part of the MAGA media which rejoiced at the humiliating treatment meted out to the Ukrainian team.
White House staffers were then invited to eat the lunch of early spring green salad, rosemary roasted chicken, and creme brulee.
Zelenskyy later sat down for a pre-scheduled interview with Fox News in which he declined to apologize to his hosts, who insist that it was he who derailed the talks.
