I've seen neighborhood meetings to decide who is the pig that throws cigarette butts into the common yard calmer than the meeting between Zelensky, Trump, and Vance. The video will go down in history. And I have mixed feelings about it. Trump went so far as to praise Zelensky for his clothes and it was unclear whether he meant it or was simply laughing at him.

Even Macron, a guy who listens to a firecracker and goes under the bed, is now the world's biggest warmonger on the Ukraine war.
For his part, the Ukrainian president gives the impression of being overwhelmed by the tension of the moment, and probably preferring to die rather than move to reach an agreement. Trump is convinced that such a war is unfeasible and is unwilling to continue paying for it, without that meaning he is happy with Putin's hostile attitudes, with his airs of Soviet nostalgia.
You may think it's crazy to make the meeting public, in front of the media. And it is. But Trump may have privately seen a different attitude from Zelensky than the one he offers to the public, which is something that happens often with political leaders. And perhaps the best way to set the record straight is this exercise in almost pornographic transparency. However, the whole thing would have looked better if the meeting had ended with an agreement, not a slamming of the door.
On the other hand, it may not be a great idea to let enemies of America watch at home, eating popcorn, the interior workings of White House diplomacy, its ways of negotiating, its strengths and weaknesses. Be that as it may, it is already public, and its impact is like that of a strong thump on the board of the geostrategic game of the moment.
I do not like the cornering of Zelensky as a guest, two against one and with a language he does not master. Nor do I find his attitude brilliant, his determination to be unmovable, or his strategy of threatening the United States with a bleak future if they do not support Ukraine. Perhaps the only grati...