Well, sure—Zelensky could have found a better way to tiptoe around Trump and Vance.
Of course, he made mistakes. And naturally, every single one of us on Twitter would have handled the situation far bettter.
But the real problem is this: when you're subjected to a setup like this—when every step you take is met with a grenade contemptuously tossed at your feet—one of them is bound to knock you down. And the moment it does, they’ll rush in, shovels in hand, eager to finish you off.
Everything could have proceeded normally—both sides issuing standard statements from their respective viewpoints, signing an agreement, and then going their separate ways.
I don't recall Macron ever facing such obstruction simply because, in his remarkable audacity, he dared to point out that Europe is providing more assistance and that it's given without any compensation.
This was never about a fair, reasonable bilateral meeting or the signing of agreements. It was about engineering a scandal at the first convenient opportunity, deliberately derailing the talks, and publicly humiliating Zelensky in front of the cameras.