by ANDRE DAMON
US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance engaged in a publicly televised shouting match with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his appearance at the White House Friday, exposing the crisis triggered by the failure of the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine and the growing confrontation between the United States and the European imperialist powers.
Following White House meetings this week with French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Zelensky arrived Friday in the White House for what was billed as a signing ceremony for an agreement that would hand over Ukraine’s mineral resources to the United States.
Instead, plans to sign the deal were scrapped, and Zelensky was ejected from the White House following an unprecedented confrontation.
During the 13-minute exchange, Trump and Vance gave a devastating picture of the current state of the US-NATO war against Russia. “Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems,” Vance said.
“You’re not in a very good position,” Trump added. “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people, you’re gambling with World War III.” He added, “Your country is in big trouble. You’re not winning this.”
Trump continued, “We gave you, through this stupid president [Joe Biden], $350 billion in military equipment. You’re buried there. Your people are dying. You’re running low on soldiers.”
Even while excoriating the presidencies of Obama and Biden, Trump took pains to identify himself with the arming of Ukraine, declaring, “Obama gave you sheets, and I gave you Javelins,” referring to anti-tank missiles provided to Ukraine by the US during the first Trump administration.
In publicly berating Zelensky, Trump sought to appeal to domestic disillusionment with the Ukraine war, which enjoys no significant support outside of the affluent upper middle class base of the Democratic Party.
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