Conservative Columnist Torches Trump Over Oval Office Roast of Zelensky: ‘There Will Be Consequences’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, departs after a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
National Review‘s Noah Rothman was more than a little disappointed by President Donald Trump performance during an Oval Office with Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, writing that it “defies description” in a reaction piece headlined “This Is Not a TV Show.”
“In sum, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was treated to a scolding lecture about why his country should be content with the extent to which it has defended some of its citizens from foreign aggression and should capitulate. He was berated, and forced to defend himself in a non-native language, for his failure to express sufficient gratitude to the United States for its support in its existential war effort — gratitude Zelensky has expressed on countless occasions,” observed Rothman. “Nevertheless, for his insistence on his country’s survival as a sovereign entity, he was accused by the president and vice president of being ‘disrespectful,’ but only because he had the temerity to do so before the cameras the White House invited into that meeting.”
He went on to note that Trump put a cap on his tirade against Zelensky by declaring, “This is gonna be great television.”
“But this is not a TV show. It’s real geopolitical diplomacy centered on a real war on the European continent with real and grave implications not just for the stability of the Atlantic Alliance but the U.S.-led world order around the globe,” concluded Rothman. “There will be consequences that follow from this, and they will almost certainly be bad for U.S. security and that of our allies.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) also scolded Trump over his comportment on Friday, calling it “a bad day for America’s foreign policy.”
“Ukraine wants independence, free markets and rule of law. It wants to be part of the West. Russia hates us and our Western values. We should be clear that we stand for freedom,” he argued.
