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The American people did not re-elect President Donald J. Trump to continue the failed Biden-Harris policy of “as much as it takes for as long as it takes” for the Ukraine war. On the contrary, President Trump campaigned on ending the killing and resolving the conflict, and he received a broad political mandate for this approach.
While he has not advocated for cutting Ukraine off, he has argued strongly for increased NATO investment in defense to reduce the burdens on the United States and effectively deter Vladimir Putin from further adventurism in Europe.
It has also not gone unnoticed that Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelenskyy has allowed himself to be used as a Democrat political prop for the last three years. He came to Washington on demand to lobby for successive packages of emergency aid stuffed into the bloated Biden spending bills that have layered unprecedented debt onto the American people and threatened the prosperity of the greatest economy on earth.
Zelenskyy even went so far as to participate in what was essentially a campaign photo-op during the general election when he flew to Pennsylvania, a key swing state, in September to tour a missile factory with Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro and didn’t invite a single Republican to participate.
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As part of his plan to come to a negotiated settlement to the war, President Trump even offered the Ukrainians a mineral-rights deal that they had wanted for some time that would have both made them money and made them more secure due to the U.S. engagement with the country.
This engagement would have acted as an actual deterrent to further Russian aggression that might endanger a NATO member if Putin knew that attacking Ukraine would also be attacking American assets—and would have been far more effective than any “security guarantee” on a piece of paper.
THE REAL REASON TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY’S DEAL BLEW UP IN THE OVAL OFFICE
The mineral-rights deal would also have been a good deal for U.S. taxpayers who to date have had no prospects of a return on the hundreds of billions of dollars they’ve provided to Ukraine during the war as they would have participated in the profits from the sale of Ukrainian natural resources.
The United States would also be the favored buyer for these resources, including the rare earths and minerals needed for the high-tech manufacturing that is critical for maintaining a strategic edge over China. If it can be revived, this deal could be a model for a new approach to American “soft power” that would actually expand U.S. influence and prosperity, not dispense charity and impose a woke liberal social agenda, as was the case under USAID.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 28, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Despite President Trump clearly signaling his new approach to Ukraine in their previous engagements, President Zelenskyy came to Washington this week thinking he would receive the same unquestioning adulation—and blank check—he had gotten on his visits during the Biden-Harris administration. In the Oval Office press engagement, Zelenskyy seemed condescending to America’s Commander in Chief and entitled to his unquestioning support and deference. This was a mistake.
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Instead of keeping any disagreements behind closed doors, he seriously mis-read President Trump and Vice President Vance, blew the mineral-rights deal for the Ukrainian people, and did serious reputational damage to himself in front of the American people. Rather offering a simple “thank you” he showed up with a chip on his shoulder and additional demands. Zelenskyy may have thought that the fight he picked would make him look like a tough guy, but in fact such disrespect is not going to endear him to the taxpayers who have committed hundreds of billions of their hard-earned dollars to his country and who voted for Donald Trump.
We all pray for peace. Hopefully President Zelenskyy will take President Trump up on his offer and return to Washington for a properly respectful discussion when and if he’s ready to end this war.