Not Smart for Zelensky to Publicly Attack Trump

By Document-Hans Rustad – 20.02.2025, 13:13

J.D. Vance urges Zelensky to think twice before attacking Trump publicly. He cannot correct the U.S. president in full public view and expect it to work. It has the opposite effect, Vance told National Pulse.

Zelensky seems to have forgotten that since 2016, Trump has been accused by Democrats, the media, and intelligence services of doing Putin’s bidding. Zelensky knows this very well since he was president during Trump’s first impeachment trial.

But it seems that hasn't sunk in.

J.D. Vance, the U.S. vice president, has accused Volodymyr Zelensky of acting "shamefully" after the Ukrainian president accused Donald Trump of living in a "disinformation bubble."

Vance warned Zelensky against airing grievances publicly, saying that it was not “a good way to deal with President Trump.”

"Of course, the Ukrainians will have their perspective. The way to express it is in a private discussion with American diplomats... He is publicly attacking the only reason his country still exists right now," Vance told National Pulse.

"And that’s shameful. And it’s not something that will make an impression on the U.S. president. In fact, it will have the opposite effect."

For a long time, we have noted that Zelensky conducts diplomacy on an open stage, playing different sides against each other. He is fully aware of those, especially in Europe, who want to take down Trump, but he fails to consider what he will be left with if the U.S. turns against Ukraine. What can Europe offer? Very little.

Zelensky continues to demand security guarantees. But Europeans cannot back such guarantees with power. Only the U.S. can. Zelensky must know this. What he is doing, therefore, is provoking the U.S. This is not a smart strategy given the people around Trump: Mike Waltz, Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, and Scott Bessent. Harsh criticism of Trump, as seen in the media in recent days, does not affect them.

Instead, these attacks could tear apart NATO unity. But it seems the pro-Ukraine faction does not grasp this possibility.

One should not put too much weight on Trump calling Zelensky a dictator with four percent support. That’s just Trump’s rhetoric.

Yet, one European politician after another condemns Trump. They are falling into the same trap as Zelensky.

Trump has been in office for just under four weeks. Does Europe have any grounds to mock Trump? Did they ever criticize Biden’s laissez-faire policies, which pushed the world toward a third world war?

Zelensky is vulnerable, as he lacks parliamentary legitimacy, and this is the basis of Trump's criticism.

Donald Trump’s decision to label Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" was "wrong and dangerous," said Olaf Scholz tonight.

“What is correct is that Volodymyr Zelensky is Ukraine’s elected head of state,” the German chancellor told Spiegel.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump called Zelensky "a dictator without elections."

Zelensky’s five-year term ended last year, but Ukrainian law does not require elections during wartime.

Europeans are clearly provoked by the new U.S. administration’s criticism of them. They have long been irritated by Trump, but when J.D. Vance gave his speech at the Munich conference, it made their heads explode.

If one takes Trump’s characterization of Zelensky in its proper context, it was nothing to get upset about. He is laying out U.S. policy, and it is a stance that has broad public support. Europeans don’t understand this.

"Think about it: A modest, successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelensky, convinced the U.S. to spend $350 billion to enter a war that could not be won, that never needed to start, but a war that he, without the U.S. and 'TRUMP,' will never be able to end.

"The U.S. has spent $200 billion more than Europe, and Europe's money is guaranteed, while the U.S. will get nothing back.

"Why didn’t Sleepy Joe Biden demand equal spending, given that this war is far more important for Europe than it is for us – we have a big, beautiful ocean separating us.

"On top of that, Zelensky admits that half of the money we sent him is 'MISSING.' He refuses to hold elections, is very unpopular in Ukrainian polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden ‘like a fiddle.’

"A dictator without elections, Zelensky should act quickly, or he will have no country left. Meanwhile, we are successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia, something everyone admits that only 'TRUMP' and the Trump administration can achieve.

"Biden never even tried, Europe has failed to create peace, and Zelensky likely just wants to keep the 'gravy train' running. I love Ukraine, but Zelensky has done a terrible job, his country is shattered, and MILLIONS have died unnecessarily – and it continues...

Fame seems to have gone to Zelensky’s head. Trump reminds him of who he is and what a weak position he holds. He puts him in his place. But Zelensky does not accept this, so the war of words may escalate.

Europeans believe moral superiority equates to strength. If that were true, they would be Superman.