Democrats inflated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s sense of arrogance and entitlement before Friday’s disastrous Oval Office meeting, with Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) even calling Zelensky the real leader of the free world.
For years, D.C. insiders have been advising Ukraine — badly.
Democrats — newcomers to the Ukrainian cause, after appeasing Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first six years of President Barack Obama’s term — set Ukraine up to oppose Trump. They did so by interfering in the 2016 election on behalf of Hillary Clinton, and then again with Zelensky’s tone-deaf visit in September 2024, when he appeared to be campaigning against Trump’s return to office.
“Never Trump” Republicans, such as former Reps. Adam Kinzinger (IL) and Liz Cheney (WY), attacked Trump as Putin’s puppet, and assured Ukraine that they would keep the flow of money and weapons coming, regardless.
When Zelensky criticized Trump in the media last week, he was not simply mounting an assertive defense of his country’s interests, or perhaps revealing his own innate arrogance. He was also reflecting the prejudices of the Democrats and Never Trumpers who have long had contempt for Trump and have spread that feeling abroad.
By challenging Trump in the Oval Office, though, Zelensky committed a massive blunder that could cost his country dearly in negotiations and could also cost him power in Ukraine. He insulted America and provoked Republicans — even those who support the Ukrainian cause — to rally behind Trump. The biggest winner, ironically, is Putin.
There will still be peace, because the two warring countries can no longer gain any advantage on the battlefield. But Zelensky seems determined to lose that peace, and if he does, it may be because of poor advice from his D.C. friends.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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