Zelensky, be grateful, read a room
Economist Thomas Sowell once said, “when people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment feels like discrimination.”
His comments were about affirmative action, but apply to Vlodomir Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader. The U.S. has supported Ukraine “bigly,” while having no direct security interest and being an ocean away, to the tune of $150 billion to $300 billion. More than all European countries. Combined.
Europe did loans, Biden sent our cash. Out of habit, in nonsequential unmarked $100 bills. Europe has bought more Russian oil than they have given Ukraine. And somehow, we are the bad guys?
Without our help, Ukraine would collapse like a CVS lawn chair Rep. Jerry Nader (D-NY) decides he can sit on.
Trump is trying to make peace and be responsible with our money. We are out of the endless war business. Biden was compromised by Hunter and his grifting in Ukraine. Our CIA coup in 2014 entangled us. Biden gave him just enough money to keep the war going, with no possibility of winning.
Trump has been clear about his solution, and the country voted for it.
The recent brush-up during his White House visit has been misreported by the legacy media. If you watch events leading up to the argument, you will see Zelenskyy poking Trump several times, and Trump acting remarkably cool. If you take everything in context Zelenskyy came off as an arrogant ingrate. Him being such a little jerk, it kinda makes you wonder why Putin took four years to invade.
The issue is to get Putin to the table. Ukraine is not in a strong position here for peace talks. After seeing the heated argument, Putin did agree to step up and come to the table and be a mediator for peace talks between Zelenskyy and Trump.
Desperate for relevance, Democrats met with Zelenskyy before he met with Trump. They knew the media is pro-Ukraine, anti-Trump and they would score points litigating, and shaming Trump publicly in front of them. Chris Murphy is the Dems’ new designated liar, replacing disgraced liar Adam Schiff. He pushed Zelenskyy to be petulant before the Trump meeting, and to create the theater in the White House. And he got caught lying about it.
It has been a tough six weeks since Trump’ s election for the Democrats. Leftist media has let many of their loudest voices go. NBC let Joy Reid and Lester Holt go. Jim Acosta of CNN is gone. I guess MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow is the last man standing.
Furthering Dem woes, DOGE has been a hit, highlighting their use of taxpayer money to fund partisan NGO activity. Dems feign outrage when Musk finds phantom deceased people still on the Medicare and Social Security payrolls. Dems’ biggest fear is, next thing you know, Elon will also stop them from voting.
There are also reports of Zelenskyy, a derivative product of the Russian oligarchy corruption model, is not being prudent with our money. He certainly has not spent it on a coat and tie. Zelenskyy and Trump walking around the White House looked like Trump was showing the plumber which toilets were stopped up.
Dems say this is a fight for “democracy,” their new word when they can’t explain anything. Zelenskyy did cancel elections so he could stay in office; you know, to further his “fight for democracy.”
Zelenskyy might not be incented to end this war. It ends his power and money flow. Then the questions start. Reports surface that he has enhanced his personal net worth, arms are being sold in the black market for 20 cents on the dollar to drug cartels. We do not have a full accounting of where our money has gone, but a country $36 trillion in debt needs to find out.
If a Democrat had tried to do what Trump has done, broker a peace deal that could end the slaughter of hundreds of thousands who have died in this invasion, then he’d be up for a Nobel Peace Prize. Instead, the new and corrupt Democrat party augers for more endless wars and death.
In short, Zelenskyy’s visit was an epic fail. He did not read the room, took self-serving advice from dolt Democrats. He overplayed his hand. He ignored reality and poked the bear, Donald Trump, biting that hand that fed him.
Just maybe, Zelenskyy’s trip to the White House arguing with Trump might end up well for him. His audition tape to fill Joy Reid’s MSNBC show seems to have gone well.
Ron Hart, a libertarian syndicated op-ed humorist, worked at Goldman Sachs and is an award-winning author and TV/radio commentator. He can be reached at Ron@RonaldHart.com or visit www.RonaldHart.com
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.