(Semi) Professional Observations on the Oval Office Debacle

I say semi-professional observations because I have served as a Russian-English-Russian interpreter at corporate, academic, and non-profit events. And when I lived in Kazakhstan, I participated in and observed similar international meetings, although at a much lower level. So here are my thoughts.

The meeting should never have happened. The sides had not even agreed on a framework. Zelensky wanted a security guarantee, but Trump was only willing to hint that it might be possible to give one. The meeting should have been downgraded to a deputies-level meeting or postponed until the sides had agreed on a framework.

Both sides needed interpreters. Zelensky speaks good English, but he failed to communicate his key point several times because of his imperfect English. And Zelensky did not always understand the nuances of Trump's and Vance's points. It is the responsibility of each party to use an interpreter if needed to communicate clearly to the other side. An intepreter would have slowed the exchanges down, giving the parties more time to think and perhaps a few crucial seconds to calm down before making a provocative response.

Zelensky should have worn a suit. He has pledged not to wear a suit until the war is over as a symbol of being a wartime president, but it is well known that Trump wears a suit everywhere. This would have given Zelensky more gravitas and shown respect to Trump.

Zelensky was clearly nervous, leaning forward in his seat and fidgeting. He should have sat in the chair like he was the president of a great power who belonged in the Oval Office, even though he is not. He also talked over Trump a number of times before the blowup, which had to irritate Trump.

The meeting was a press availability, and it went on far too long, which allowed the questions to detour into dangerous territory. Trump and Zelensky should have said a few nice platitudes about the warmth of their personal and national relationships and then Trump could have called on 2-3 reporters who could be relied on to ask harmless questions. Then they shake hands and get their photos taken. Instead, the meeting was already getting a bit tense before the explosion. And Zelensky was surely mentally tired from speaking English for 35+ minutes in a tense environment.

I blame J. D. Vance for blowing up the meeting. I think it was intentional, but I'll grant the possibility that it may not have been. In any case, Vance had not spoken until about the 38-minute mark. Then he accused Zelensky of campaigning for the opposition in Pennsylvania and of disrespecting Trump, both of which are sore points for Trump. And he told Zelensky that the US was trying to save Ukraine by trusting Russia to keep a ceasefire, a sore point for Zelensky. And the explosion followed. You only bring up the most sensitive issues if you are trying to sabotage the meeting.

Vance has a much more isolationist foreign policy than Trump. He was able to swing Trump to his point of view because Vance is super articulate and quick on his feet. Yet it's a dangerous game because Trump may become angry at some point if he feels he is being manipulated. Trump wanted to sign the rare earths deal when the meeting began, and it appeared that Zelensky intended to as well. So Vance is responsible for Trump not getting that deal signed. The Trump-Vance relationship may blow up at some point.

In the end I think the meeting will be positive for Zelensky. He will be seen as a hero in Ukraine for standing up to a superpower bully and not signing a deal without security guarantees. Europe is already pulling together a plan to aid Ukraine, and this debacle pushed Europe to act faster and stronger. I can't imagine that the US would have continued shipping weapons to Ukraine much longer anyway because of Vance's influence, so this meeting only accelerated the cutoff. And Zelensky didn't sign an extortionate rare-earths deal in exchange for some nebulous promise that Trump might be able to do something more for Ukraine.