“There’s a new sheriff in town.” Anyone who considered this aversion by the American vice president to be a communicative exaggeration will already be reconsidering it, after the Trump-Zelensky meeting at the White House. The “new sheriff” has decided to bring order to the “global city,” having a clear preference for the method by which Alexander the Great untied the Gordian Knot, whatever that may imply for the diplomatic entanglements known to this day. At the same time, even if he himself does not understand it, his attitude offers further proof of the timelessness of the great Greek Thucydides.
No one knows whether Zelensky decided to put on an away play, hoping to surprise his interlocutor. This would boost his profile inside Ukraine. His public image had suffered serious blows before Trump’s election and worsened after the election. Already, very powerful actors such as Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and the former head of the armed forces, General Zaluzny (he got rid of him by sending him as ambassador to London) are lurking.
Trump has proven once again that he is not made of “diplomatic material”. He recognizes and respects only power and does not leave the slightest room for ideological approaches that have been popular in the West in recent decades. Perhaps this brings him much closer to leaders such as China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. At the same time, it distances him more and more from the leaderships of European states.
The difference is that the French Macron and the British Starmer handled their meeting with Trump differently. They showed that they understood this informal hierarchy, based on power. A hierarchy from which no one is exempt, no matter what it is called, Erdogan included. The question is how adaptable each leader is and how vulnerable to the needs of communication policy aimed at the domestic audience.
Trump believes this is the path of the future for the United States in the modern international environment. And if anyone is thinking of betting on his physical absence from the equation due to age, they should have observed Vice President Vance much more carefully. He is boosting his stock spectacularly, starting with his first appearance before an international audience from the podium of the Munich Security Conference.
Europe continues to watch the developments with embarrassment. It should have declared that everything was decided jointly in Washington and Brussels and since the former is now revising, the latter has no choice but to do the same.
Although the Ukrainian minerals deal was ready and was to be signed at the White House, Zelensky tried to negotiate at the last minute to extract security guarantees from the US, adding that he would not compromise with “murderer Putin.” His stance drew heavy fire from Trump and Vance, who accused him of disrespect and essentially showed him the exit door, telling him he could come back when he was ready for a deal.
“It doesn’t work like that,” Trump replied. You are in a very difficult position and you are only surviving because of the US and the weapons systems they give you. He added that, just as you hate Putin, calling him a murderer, you should know that the Russians are not in love with you either! And he declared that he himself is not taking sides, but is trying to find a solution. And a solution where one side takes everything cannot be found. How many times has it been argued that diplomacy cannot bring back what you lose on the battlefield…
The whole show in the Oval Office will go down in the history of international relations. The lessons are for all of humanity. Once upon a time, an invitation to the White House was the ultimate pursuit of presidents and prime ministers, in the hope of strengthening their international profile. I would bet reasonably that the revisions have already begun…
Trump doesn’t care if you’re right or wrong. You can’t have everything in a negotiation. He’s not interested in getting into many details either.
In essence, he doesn’t care if he’s right or wrong. He’s only interested in imposing – let’s emphasize that word – a solution. So, at least let’s bet less on his own intervention if we have a diversion with Turkey. Or should we consider whether and to what extent the performance in the White House will lead to a reconsideration of the usefulness of a heated episode in Turkish strategy?
The new normal
Trumpism is proving to be much more powerful than Donald Trump. Because it seems to be based on a significant part of Western societies, not exclusively in the USA as relevant polls reveal. Western societies felt increasingly excluded from the modern world, resulting in the continuous increase in the acceptance rates of the Alternative Right.
This is a big problem because it constitutes the most serious challenge to the widely rooted belief that “democracy is the best system available”. In a democratic regime, parts of societies felt excluded and have begun to look askance, at least for the time being, in the direction of countries characterized as “undemocratic” in the West, with a key characteristic of a very strong personality at the helm.
This situation should have already led to alarm in Western societies and the necessary adjustments. Unfortunately, it is proving in practice that reflexes are too slow. Not only before Trump’s re-election to the US presidency, but also after. The documentation would be particularly easy. Behind ideological references, powerful economic interests were served that always hoped that they would somehow survive. However, Trump’s behavior has led the planet to deregulation, at all levels.
