The clash between President Trump, Vice President Vance, and President Zelensky
Private conversations among leaders are common, but a public spectacle like this is almost unprecedented, especially in the White House environment. The style of debate that took place between President Trump, Vice President Vance, and President Zelensky was unusual. Both parties were at fault for letting things get out of hand; however, Zelensky was the more foolish participant because (as Trump pointed out) he is in a weak position. There were several reasons for this diplomatic fiasco, but the most important was the fundamentally different views on how the war started and how it could be ended. President Zelensky, like many in American and European institutions, places all responsibility for the war on Russia and believes that the Russian government not only pursues maximalist goals in Ukraine but also wants to attack the Baltic states and NATO.
Trump and Vance, based on their own views of world and international relations (which are shared by many hard-thinking members of American institutions), believe that Russia had some legitimate reasons to see Western ambitions in Ukraine as a threat to their security and vital interests. They see this war as part of a broader geopolitical conflict between the West and Russia regarding NATO expansion and Europe's security order. In the absence of diplomacy, they believe that this spiral of action and reaction in the geopolitical conflict will only intensify, with the risk of "World War III," as Trump put it.
That is why they were angry when Zelensky publicly pressured them at the press conference to promise American military "background support" for a European "peacekeeping" force in Ukraine. And although Trump's words about Zelensky were extremely diplomatic, in response to another question, he did express some diplomatic common sense: "You want me to say terrible things about Putin and then say to him: 'Hey, Vladimir, how about a deal?'" Trump also stated what should be a truism but is too often forgotten by the American foreign and security policy establishment: that his primary responsibility is to the United States.
