OPINION:
When President Trump dressed down a slovenly dressed Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday in the Oval Office, the mainstream media lost their collective mind.
There were a couple of thousand examples of the groupthink sky-is-falling hyperbole that exploded across the ecosphere. Still, perhaps the most egregious was MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, who said this: “Today, Donald Trump irreparably destroyed the 80-year-old post-World War II international order.”
The media didn’t bother to wait a tick to see what happened after the fiery White House exchange, in which Mr. Trump told the Ukrainian leader that the United States wouldn’t just keep giving him billions of taxpayer dollars, especially since it seemed he wasn’t really all that committed to peace.
So, let’s take a look at what really did happen in the days since their Oval Office meeting.
Saturday
The day after the explosive Oval Office tiff, it came out that before the meeting, Democrats had advised Mr. Zelenskyy to reject the terms of the mineral deal that the president was offering. Social media posts claimed that Obama administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, told Mr. Zelenskyy as he flew to the U.S. to “stand strong” and “be tough” and “don’t let Trump bully you.”
By midday, Norway announced it was considering tapping its $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world, to dramatically increase its support for Ukraine (so far, the Nordic country has ponied up less than $4 billion, compared with America’s nearly $200 billion stake).
Mr. Zelenskyy flew to London, where he was greeted like a hero. Speaking for European leaders, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised a “coalition of the willing” to arm and defend Ukraine. European leaders agreed on a four-point plan to work with Ukraine to stop the war.
By the end of the day, Mr. Zelenskyy said his country was still interested in a deal to share mineral rights with the United States. He said the words Mr. Trump wanted to hear: “We are very grateful to the United States for all the support. I’m thankful to President Trump, Congress for their bipartisan support, and the American people.”
Sunday
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared that an economic deal with Ukraine was no longer on the table. “All President Zelenskyy had to do was come in and sign this economic agreement and again show no daylight — no daylight — between Ukrainian people and the American people, and he chose to blow that up,” he said.
Later that day, Mr. Zelenskyy moved again, saying he was ready to sign a U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal.
Monday
Mr. Zelenskyy declared that a deal to end the war between Ukraine and Russia “is still very, very far away” and “no one has started all these steps yet.”
Mr. Trump took to Truth Social to slam the Ukrainian leader, saying, “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer! It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace.”
The furious president then ordered a pause on shipments of U.S. military aid to Ukraine and said it would remain in place until he saw that Mr. Zelenskyy was committed to seeking peace talks.
Tuesday
The European Union announced a “Rearm Europe” program, freeing up $840 billion for defense across the bloc.
Later in the day, Mr. Zelenskyy took to X, saying he was ready to return to the negotiating table. “I would like to reiterate Ukraine’s commitment to peace,” he said in the lengthy post. “None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. … My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.”
He said he was “ready to work fast to end the war.”
He also declared that Ukraine was ready to sign the minerals and security deal proposed by Mr. Trump, which he roundly rejected on Friday. He added that it was “regrettable” that the Oval Office meeting “did not go the way it was supposed to be.”
So maybe, just maybe, mainstream media should hold off on all the hyperbole about Mr. Trump’s tariffs. Why don’t you give it a bit to see if the “Great Negotiator” can pull another win for America?
• Joseph Curl covered the White House and politics for a decade for The Washington Times. He can be reached at josephcurl@gmail.com and on Twitter @josephcurl.
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