There were no七星灶s piled up, nor was there a copper kettle boiling over a river, but on August 18th, the White House witnessed a brilliant intellectual battle.
However, it must be said that in front of the Europeans, Trump was formidable and truly formidable.
The leaders of countries such as France, Germany, Italy, accompanied Ukrainian President Zelensky to the White House with two purposes:
1. To prevent Zelensky from further humiliation and accepting unacceptable conditions;
2. Europe wants to be at the table, and the table with major European interests cannot be without Europe.
But on the chessboard, only the players have the right to talk about gains and losses; onlookers, no matter how anxious they are, are just footnotes in others’ chess books.
The Europeans came uninvited, but Trump had his own clever plan.
Originally, everyone thought that the seven European giants and Zelensky should meet with Trump together; but the White House arranged for Trump to meet Zelensky first, and then meet with the seven leaders.
After all, on their own turf, even if the seven giants have arrived in the United States, they can only wait in the White House.
The advantages of being the host have always been the most silent but heaviest weights on the negotiating table.
Without the protection of European leaders and with the lesson of being kicked out six months ago, Zelensky was obviously more cautious and shy.
He even changed his clothes, although not a suit and tie, but wearing an extra coat, feeling a little more formal.
唉, attire at diplomatic occasions is often a silent declaration of a weak country, wrapped in the vulnerability of dignity and the desire for survival.
Someone praised Zelensky: “You look great in this outfit!”
Trump immediately “provoked”: “He’s the one who attacked you last time (without wearing a suit).”
Zelensky responded: “I remember. Oh, you’re still wearing the same suit. I changed, but you didn’t…”
Humor is an art. But in the game of the strong, humor is sometimes the only armor the weak can wear. Behind the laughter are many unspoken bitterness and helplessness.
However, compared with the last time, the atmosphere of this White House meeting was significantly better. When greeting Zelensky at the White House gate, Trump even hooked his neck.
Perhaps having learned from the last lesson, Zelensky thanked Trump from various angles.
Trump was very pleased and decided: “If everything goes well today, we will hold a trilateral meeting (between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine), and I believe that when we do so, there will be a great opportunity to end the war!”
But people could see a huge map of Ukraine standing in the White House room, with Russian-occupied areas marked on it. Trump and Zelensky stopped to look at it.
Upon seeing this map, I believe Zelensky must feel mixed emotions.
Once all of it was Ukrainian land, but now, much of it cannot be recovered.
The lines on the map are congealed with the blood and tears of the past and the lives that have passed away. Every re-drawing of the border is a record of national trauma and the cold historical judgment.
According to current information, Putin insists that Crimea is non-negotiable and entirely Russian; for the other four states in Eastern Ukraine, Ukraine must surrender the remaining Donetsk and Luhansk lands in exchange for a ceasefire in Zaharodny and Kherson, while Russia will return scattered land in other states occupied by it.
Trump tends to agree with Putin and is pressuring Ukraine to accept this.
Before this White House meeting, Trump had already applied pressure, saying that “if Zelensky is willing, he can almost immediately end the conflict with Russia. He (Zelensky) can also choose to continue fighting.”
Trump also claimed that Ukraine “cannot recover” Crimea or join NATO.
“Some things will never change!!!”
Both Europe and Ukraine were surprised. After three years of war, Trump was pressuring Ukraine to give up even more land.
This is also the important reason why seven European leaders traveled to the White House to support Zelensky.
In this world, there is no harm in comparison, but it does cause pain.
Just three days ago, at the Alaska meeting, American soldiers laid out a red carpet and Trump personally welcomed Putin at the airport; at the three-day White House meeting, seven European leaders came together, but Trump didn’t even greet them at the door.
The hearts of these seven leaders are probably cooling down rapidly.
But they came, so they have to meet.
This can be described as “setting up a long table to entertain 16 parties. All who come are guests, relying solely on one’s lips. Smile when meeting, but forget after.”
Looking at the seating order at the long table, Trump sits in the middle, with Italian Prime Minister Meloni on his left and French President Macron on his right. On the side, there are German Chancellor Merz and British Prime Minister Starmer.
Germany is Europe’s largest country, but its chancellor is really not favored by Trump.
It was Merz who spoke up.
He warned Trump in public: “I want to emphasize that a ceasefire should be reached before Zelensky and Putin meet. I cannot imagine the next meeting being held without a ceasefire. Let’s try to pressure Russia… because these efforts are credible only with a ceasefire.”
Trump replied with one sentence: “In the six wars I have put down, there has never been a ceasefire.”
Merz, who are you?
Should the ceasefire come before the peace agreement, there is a major divergence between Europe and America.
Europe and Ukraine strongly advocate that a ceasefire must come first before discussing a peace agreement.
Trump also insisted on this point before the Alaska meeting. He even publicly threatened that if Putin refused to stop the fire, the consequences would be serious.
However, when he met with Putin, Trump’s principles seemed to disappear. Moreover, he said that Europe and Ukraine “agreed” that the best way was to reach a direct peace agreement because “ceasefire agreements often do not work.”
The Europeans were furious that Trump represented them again.
Western media commented that the biggest gift Trump gave to Putin was “more time to bully Ukraine.”
Merz’s face-to-face admonition was rejected.
It was the turn of the President of the European Commission, Von Der Leyen.
She told Trump that “we must ensure that every child (in Ukraine) goes home, which should be one of our main goals…”
Trump replied, “We are here for different purposes, but we reached the largest trade agreement in history a few weeks ago. Thank you.”
However, Trump clearly didn’t like Von Der Leyen’s approach and deliberately mentioned the trade agreement between the US and Europe – which Von Der Leyen was widely believed to have accepted an unequal treaty and was humiliated by Trump.
It must be said that Trump really has a way with Von Der Leyen.
What was the outcome of these two White House meetings?
Regardless, Trump announced that he had won again.
According to the information he disclosed on social media at the first time: he had a “friendly meeting” with the guests, “everyone is very happy about the prospect of peace in Russia and Ukraine”, and they will hold a trilateral meeting between the US, Russia, and Ukraine next.
Is everyone “very happy”?
Regardless, that’s what Trump said.
There is also a side story.
According to Western media reports, when the meeting was halfway through, Trump suddenly left his guests and went to make a phone call to Putin to inform him of the situation and plan the trilateral meeting.
First, in front of Europeans, Trump is quite skilled.
Merz was rejected, Von Der Leyen was embarrassed.
At the White House, he reminded Trump that “as a follow-up action, we may need a quadrilateral meeting. Because when we talk about security guarantees, we are talking about the entire security of the European continent.”
It cannot be just a negotiation between the US and Russia or the US and Russia-Ukraine; Europe should also be at the negotiating table.
But according to Trump’s announcement at last, it will still be a trilateral negotiation.
Macron’s words simply did not work.
Second, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has indeed reached a turning point.
Due to an unmuted microphone, people heard Trump whisper to Macron, “I think he (Putin) wants to make a deal. I think he wants to make a trade for me, do you understand? It sounds crazy.”
One outcome that Trump did not mention is that the land belongs to Russia, the resources belong to the United States, the debt belongs to the European Union, and the glory belongs to Ukraine!
To the relief of Europeans, Trump suggested that he would provide security guarantees to Ukraine together with Europe.
If he accepts the cession of land, he will be a national criminal; if he refuses to compromise, Trump will definitely deal with him.
The fate of leaders of small countries often involves the pain of撕裂 between national righteousness and survival reality.
Third, Zelensky also reminded Trump.
Of course, Trump is also aggrieved.
Before this White House meeting, he sent multiple tweets, one of which said: “I fully believe that if Russia raises their hands and says, ‘We give up, we yield, we surrender, and we will give Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and everything within a thousand miles to Ukraine and the greatest country in the world – the most respected, most powerful country of all,’ then the fake news media and their Democratic partners will say it’s a bad and humiliating day for Trump, the worst day in our country’s history…”
In Trump’s view, he has mediated a peace agreement, which is a great thing; but the American media are too snobbish to criticize him for being too weak and bowing to Putin.
Trump is so dissatisfied that he cannot help but破口大骂.
Another detail is that Zelensky was asked on site, “Why don’t you hold elections?”
Zelensky replied that it is impossible to hold fair elections during wartime…
Trump interrupted and said, “If we happen to have a war with someone within three and a half years, we won’t hold elections? Oh, that’s good!”
Because three and a half years later, Trump’s four-year term will end, and according to the U.S. Constitution, he will not be able to run again. But if a war breaks out, is it a new idea?
However, in times of crisis, the boundaries of power and the resilience of rules are always subjected to the harshest tests in the world; a joke sometimes reflects the dark possibilities hidden deep within the system.
Many things can be achieved that we never thought of, but some people can do them.