It was political theatre of the surreal. Witnessing the person who attempted to engineer the destruction of democracy shamelessly taunting the individual who is fighting for democracy. A battle royal emerged as two world leaders engaged in the most intense verbal duel publicly televised from the White House. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had an acerbic fracas in the Oval Office on February 28, which the media captured with their cameras rolling. Both leaders, accompanied by Vice President JD Vance, routinely debated what-trump-and-zelenskyy-said-during-their-heated-argument-in-the-oval-office and interrupted each other during a meeting that was intended to discuss a key US-Ukraine minerals agreement.

Trump and Vance’s antics presented the nation to the rest of the world in a distressingly negative light, clearly demonstrating that our government is no longer a reliable and trusted ally to progressive democracies throughout the world… As if to underscore that fact, Trump ordered a pause in military aid to Ukraine Monday night. But it’s worth a reminder of what actually happened in the Oval Office.

Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to Trump, commenting on a “first step toward real security guarantees” for Ukraine while also insisting there should be “no compromises” with the “killer” and “terrorist” Putin. Shortly after, Trump replied that Zelenskyy ought to be more “grateful” and that his “hatred” for Putin made it “tough to make a deal.”

Portraying himself as an arbiter of peace, Trump incorrectly and dishonestly stated that his position - which is essentially to hand over Ukraine’s bargaining chips preemptively at the negotiating table, give Putin whatever he wants, and take him at his word that he won’t reinvade - aligns more with Europe and the world’s emotions than with Zelenskyy’s.

Chronically incoherent and verbally disjointed, President Trump perennially rambled, ranted, and repeated himself so that Vice President Vance adroitly injected himself into the discussion, disingenuously claiming Putin invaded Ukraine because then-President Joe Biden was weak and “the path to peace and prosperity is diplomacy.”

Locked, loaded, and armed with facts to thoroughly discredit Vance’s MAGA rhetoric, Zelenskyy accurately stated that Putin first invaded Ukraine in 2014 (Trump tried to correct him, incorrectly stating the invasion occurred in 2015), and that Putin had occupied Crimea and had been encroaching toward and upon Ukrainian territory ever since, including during Trump’s first tenure as president. He also reminded all those in attendance that Putin’s brutal 2022 invasion was itself a violation of a previous ceasefire - demonstrating further skepticism and cynicism to the assumption that world leaders can take Putin’s promises for “peace” seriously.

Apparently, such indisputable truth and facts were too much for Vance who launched into attack mode, berating Zelenskyy as “disrespectful” for trying to litigate the matter (i.e., telling the truth with concrete facts) in front of the American media. Vance further derided the Ukrainian president, informing him that he should be grateful to Trump and not attack the administration that was “trying to prevent the destruction of your country.”

As the argument continued, Zelenskyy warned both men that, even though the US has an ocean between itself and Europe, the country would “feel” the consequences of capitulating to Russia “in the future.” From that moment on, all hell broke loose. “Have you said, ‘Thank you’ once this entire meeting?” Vance pressed Zelenskyy, who has repeatedly thanked America.

Trump accused Zelenskyy of “gambling with World War III” and attempted to humiliate him by stating, “you don’t have the cards.” Pretty arrogant for a man who dodged the draft supposedly due to bone spurs to lecture an individual whose name has become synonymous with wartime bravery. (Zelenskyy wittingly remarked that he’s not playing cards, he’s fighting a war.) Trump performed a mock impersonation of Zelenskyy saying, “I don’t want a ceasefire!” Vance accused Zelenskyy of attempting to litigate his concerns in front of the media, telling him “We know that you’re wrong.”

Later during the meeting, when a reporter asked Trump what would happen if Putin broke a future ceasefire, Trump replied in typically obnoxious fashion, “What if a bomb drops on your head right now?” He then produced another disjointed rant about how Putin had endured “phony witch hunts” and blamed the “Russia Russia Russia” investigation on Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and “shifty Adam Schiff.” Okay?!

Trump told Zelenskyy that, “I’ve empowered you to be a tough guy and I don’t think you’d be a tough guy without the United States,” adding that if Zelenskyy didn’t adhere to a deal with Putin, he would receive no support from America. Trump abruptly ended the press conference, noting “this is going to be great television” as Vance confidently patted his boss on the arm. The Ukrainian ambassador, Oksana Markarova, hung her head in her hands.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio - who sat silently next to Vance during the Oval Office fiasco - in February 2022 tweeted “The people of #Ukraine are tough people who will NEVER accept being ruled by #Putin . . . Men, women, children, the elderly, they are going to fight . . . And they are going to maim & kill alot [sic] of Russians.” Now that he works for Trump, Rubio posted this on Friday: “Thank you @POTUS for standing up for America in a way that no President has ever had the courage to do before.” You read that correctly.

South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham, previously one of Ukraine’s most ardent supporters, has unabashedly called for Zelenskyy to issue a televised apology or step down as president. Given that Senator Graham has the reputation of flip-flopping with a weather vane’s frequency, such a sudden about-face should not be surprising. Moreover, to stay in Trump’s good graces, most Republicans will likely abandon any previous support they had for Zelenskyy.

Oh, by the way, did I mention that Brian Glenn, a member of the president’s newly handpicked press pool, member of the right-wing Real America’s Voice, and bombastic congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s current boyfriend, asked Zelenskyy, “Why don’t you wear a suit? Do you own a suit?” Please! Not surprisingly, many Republican congresspeople immediately went into attack mode toward the Ukrainian president.

It is clear that President Zelenskyy understands the enormity of the threat, not only to his nation but also to the European continent. However, when he attempted to explain the threat’s severity during his White House meeting, Trump and Vance, rather than respond with empathy and understanding, became combative and irate. Obviously shocked by what they had witnessed, numerous world leaders immediately notified the Ukrainian President that world leaders would rally in support of Zelenskyy. They did and offered him their unwavering support.

Many politicians, pundits, and journalists have expressed skepticism at what they argue would be a significant degree of Trump and Vance’s naivete as it pertains to Russian-Ukrainian relations. Rather, these policy experts argue that Trump and Vance purposely ambushed Zelenskyy to establish an even wider path of appeasement toward further solidifying a friendship with Vladmir Putin and to accumulate certain vital natural resources from Ukraine for American consumption. The truth is that this sounds like an accurate yet sad assessment of the situation.