Donald Trump speaks his ‘Truth’ about Ukraine in attack on Zelensky

Negotiating peace can be delicate business. Often it requires a steady hand, a strong sense of compassion and inexhaustible patience. As Senator George J. Mitchell, a leading architect of the Northern Ireland peace process, once wrote, “In order to understand what another person is saying, you must assume it is true and try to imagine what it might be true of.”

Cockburn was reminded of Mitchell’s sage words when he read the president’s Truth Social post about Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday afternoon, which he republishes in full below:

Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and “TRUMP,” will never be able to settle. The United States has spent $200 Billion Dollars more than Europe, and Europe’s money is guaranteed, while the United States will get nothing back. Why didn’t Sleepy Joe Biden demand Equalization, in that this War is far more important to Europe than it is to us — We have a big, beautiful Ocean as separation. On top of this, Zelenskyy admits that half of the money we sent him is “MISSING.” He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden “like a fiddle.” A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only “TRUMP,” and the Trump Administration, can do. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the “gravy train” going. I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues…..

A US delegation is currently engaged in talks with its Russian counterpart in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a view to bringing an end to the war in Ukraine. Representatives for Ukraine were not invited to the summit, to the shock of America’s NATO allies in Europe and the annoyance of Zelensky and the Ukrainians. America’s opening gambit ahead of the talks ceded significant ground to Russia, including saying that Ukraine would not be admitted to NATO — and “realist” remarks in the last week from Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and defense secretary Pete Hegseth have scandalized Europe. Zelensky said Tuesday that Trump was “living in this disinformation space.” It appears that the president didn’t take too kindly to those words.

Members of the American and European media have been picking at Trump’s post ever since it was published: challenging the sums of money he cites, pointing out that his own Treasury secretary says all aid to Ukraine is accounted for, highlighting that Zelensky’s poll numbers are, in fact, high and gasping about Trump’s characterization of Zelensky as a “dictator without elections.”

Cockburn attempted to follow Senator Mitchell’s advice and find the truth within Trump’s “Truth.” His best effort? Perhaps Zelensky should choose his words even more carefully in order to secure Ukraine’s seat at the table…