When I launched MVE in April last year, I included Methow Valley in the name for a reason. I wanted it to be a real source of local information which has no political affiliation.
I came to realize, and it became more significant on Friday, that although we live in a small town, we are not immune from the world. I wrestled whether to include anything outside of local news in this paper. This is a local paper, first and foremost.
Then I remembered Ken Burns’ documentary about World War II called, The War. Who can forget Al McIntosh, the publisher of the Rock County Star Herald in world-famous Luverne, Minnesota? McIntosh wrote about people’s experiences and thoughts in a small town during the bloodiest war in modern times. These posts became a part of history itself, a sort of marker if you will.
I took McIntosh’s cue to include national and international events, because you would have to be deaf and mute to avoid mentioning what is happening above our heads today.
There are stories about people’s characters and how they behave behind the scenes.
On Friday, we got to witness three people’s characters in a Shakespearian melodrama for ourselves.
On Friday, I saw two world leaders bully another leader in front of the world to see.
If it wasn’t planned, it couldn’t have gone any better for the bullies.
I saw a visiting president outmanned and out-gunned in the Oval Office. Outmanned because it was two against one, but out-gunned because he was up against two native speakers of English, the lingua franca of this sword fight.
I saw a visiting president try to regain his footing while two so-called hosts shamelessly turned the screws on him even more.
There is a split second delay in understanding a foreign language compared to your native language. Zelensky was bombarded with two attackers at once, and when he tried to respond, he was misunderstood or simply cut off.
Take, for example, Zelensky’s comment about the US benefitting from having a “nice ocean” but warning about trouble from currents across the Atlantic. Zelensky began to say, “God bless you” before Trump callously interrupted him, “Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.”
This alone should have ended the news conference, but Zelensky, in his deference and humility, stayed, not understanding that he was in an ambush.
The language barrier was obvious. Zelensky referred to Vance talking “loudly” when he meant it metaphorically. He said his country has been “alone,” meaning fighting alone. Trump was thinking about dollars.
At one point, Trump angrily repeated, “you don’t have the cards,” to which Zelensky responded, “We’re not playing cards.” I don’t know if Zelensky understood the figure of speech.
I witnessed a culture clash. Zelensky was trying to pay the US a compliment, but Trump couldn’t hear it.
Zelensky wanted security guarantees. Trump wanted a mineral deal.
Zelensky wants Russia wholly out of Ukraine. For Trump, everything is on the table.
For Zelensky, Ukraine is his land and his people. For Trump, it’s just another business deal.
Zelensky expressed gratitude, but Trump and Vance wanted him to kiss the Godfather’s ring.
Trump couldn’t fathom how people brutally oppressed by the Soviet Union and ruthlessly bombed the last three years could harbor hatred. How lucky for him.
Zelensky tried to explain why Putin can’t be trusted. Trump, for some reason, equated American businesses interests in Ukraine as a security guarantee, which it’s not, as there were American businesses in Ukraine before the invasion that Russia simply rolled over.
Pro-Trump pundits blamed Zelensky for not reading the room and understanding Trump’s psychology. I’d like to see how well Trump would “read a room” in a foreign country, in front of cameras and attacked in a foreign language.
Zelensky’s focus the last three years has been on his country’s survival. I don’t think he has the bandwidth to understand Trump’s “psychology.” That would be a tall order for anyone.
Trump and Vance wanted Zelensky to be deferential to the US. They didn’t understand that flying across an ocean to sign a rare earth minerals deal was being differential. Ukrainians have deep ties to their land, and sharing it with corporate interests doesn’t come easily.
I saw Vance, who has never visited Ukraine, tell its president he “watched and seen the stories” and accuse Zelensky of “propaganda,” then tell the president he is “wrong.” What an abysmal thing to say to a world leader and in front of cameras.
This wasn’t demonstrating American leadership. This was badgering an ally.
Zelensky tried to connect with Trump and Vance on a human level. Not understanding this, Vance threw down the gauntlet. Tell us thank you. Perhaps he hasn’t heard what Zelensky said because he wasn’t listening.
This wasn’t hospitality. This was bullying.
No one has a greater stake for his country’s survival and lasting peace than Zelensky. He knows that and his country knows that. He hasn’t worn a suit in three years out of humility and solidarity with the men and women on the front lines. He is one of the most humble men I have seen on the world stage, constantly thanking his allies, and J.D. Vance and Donald Trump just ate him for lunch.
And then, a bombshell. After accusing Zelensky of disrespecting the Oval Office, they told him to get out.
It was the most abysmal reception I have ever seen by world leaders. No one deserves to be treated this way.
If you turn off the sound, you can see the posturing- Trump pointing and dominating, Vance looking at Zelensky with disdain, Zelensky crossing his arms in defense and trying to get a word in.
Every American should be embarrassed by yesterday’s treatment of a foreign leader. No one should be humiliated or cowered into submission, especially a country bravely fighting for its freedom.
In barely over 30 days, Trump and Vance showed that America cannot be relied on by its allies, which plays marvelously into the hands of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. It will have repercussions we don’t yet feel, but if karma or Zelensky’s prediction is any indicator, we will feel.
Well done, Julia
Thank you, Susan.
So what your saying is, more bullets and bombs for Zelensky and more debt for the USA?
Let’s fund the war until all that remain are women and children. If that happens too slowly, perhaps it would be best to donate nukes? If things escalate and the war comes to a town near you (maybe MV), it will all be worth while.
If only Biden were still our leader, he’d know what to do.
Thank you for your comment, John. I appreciate it. Ukraine didn’t start this war. They were invaded. The question is, what do they do? Should they appease and cede territory? Does Ukraine want weapons to destroy their own people or save them? There are deep layers, John. Look up the Budapest Memorandum of 1994. If Ukraine ever gets nuclear weapons, they will never give them up again. Nuclear disarmament is dead because the US can’t be counted on to fulfill their end of the agreement. You probably don’t want the US involved in anything, but that is not the reality on the ground. Woodrow Wilson, for years, didn’t want to get involved in World War I, but he eventually had to. We are more interconnected now. Nobody wants this war, least of all the Ukrainians. They want security guarantees. They don’t want a peace agreement that Russia will break when they re-arm. They know that a cease fire will give Russia time to re-arm. Russia has had a war with a neighbor each decade since the collapse of the Soviet Union. There are a lot of layers here, John.
Excellent column, thank you.
Thank you.