Summary

Trump just presided over one of the greatest diplomatic disasters in modern history, with flared tempers, raised voices, and shredded protocol.

Never before has a U.S. president bullied and berated an adversary, never mind an ally, in such a public way.

During a tense Oval Office meeting, Trump and JD Vance attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, demanding he accept a peace deal with Russia or lose U.S. support.

The conversation devolved into shouting, with Trump accusing Zelenskyy of being ungrateful and “gambling with World War III.”

The meeting ended in chaos, with no agreement reached.

  • rottingleaf@lemmy.world
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    4 hours ago

    Our alliances with the free west are dead.

    That’s a bit exaggerated.

    Alliances with Middle-Eastern monarchies, Israel and such - are apparently becoming even stronger.

    Alliances with European countries and the Commonwealth - yes, but doesn’t seem enough of a breakup to deprive both sides of the common R&D and weapons trade and logistics system.

    North Korea is its own thing, Stalinism is not good, but it’s not an aggressive nation even against South Korea. It’s just their elite’s way of survival to threaten everyone around and to make themselves necessary to their neighbors, which are China, Russia and, well, South Korea.

    Iran is strained the opposition it has in its conflicts, so it tries to deal with Russia and India and everyone, China included.

    Russia is a gang of thieves scaled to a nation with nuclear weapons. Such an elite can’t stand a democratic nation with similar official language and half the population talking Russian, with decent level of life, nearby. They’d lose peace, so they chose war. And frankly I think that this was predicted by those supporting Ukraine. The idea was that Russia will kill itself against Ukraine, or take the L not accepting the price needed, and it turned out that Russia’s elite will rather pay that price.

    So, I didn’t mention China itself. China is the nation everyone listed, including US, is heavily reliant upon economically. And war in Ukraine made Russia even more reliant on China, and destabilization in the Middle-East made Iran even more reliant on China, basically bad things make everyone even more reliant on China.

    And China is an adversary. So what Trump&Vance&co are doing is to accept all kinds of scum into their allies’ ranks, except China. Allowing that scum to do as it pleases.

    So - it’s “not allowing the better to be the enemy of the good” and at the same time cozying up to all kinds of gangsters, double win.

    I wish your next election is an election.

    • torrentialgrain@lemm.ee
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      2 hours ago

      I think you’re underestimating how much hatred and disdain this administration is stewing in Europe. This is not something that can be fixed if a “normal” person comes into office in four years. IF there’s even going to be an open election then.

      What’s happening right now has already done generational damage to transatlantic diplomacy. And we’re barely a month in.

      • rottingleaf@lemmy.world
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        35 minutes ago

        Maybe it has, I don’t know, but actual ties, money and technologies and cooperation, seem to go on.

        Also “in Europe” has very dubious politicians, like UvdL, as well. I don’t think Trump can be worse than that bitch. As a person, of course, as a politician he has more power.