Just Say Thank You and Shut Up

Trump said it to Ukraine today, and was planning to say it to Europe tomorrow.

Hi All,

Well, today should be a day of clarity for Europeans who care about Europe and Americans who care for the USA. Trump did them both a favor in speaking absolutely honestly yesterday. It was all there, Trump’s petulance, his enormous yet fragile ego, and, as always, his love of Putin. The US President also made it very clear what he has in store for Ukraine, for Europe, and, as always, for the American people.

I know some pro-Ukraine Republicans are trying to pin the responsibility for this blow-up on JD Vance (who evidently enjoyed every moment of it) but, as always, it misses the point. What we saw was pure Trump—his views, his emotions, his deeply damaged pathology. Here is a video of the whole press conference (it lasts almost 50 minutes). People blame Vance for jumping in at the 40th minute, but its actually in the 39th minute, when Trump starts blaming Zelensky for having “tremendous hatred” for Putin that things start going off the rails.

There is a transcript of what happens afterwards at the end.

The key theme throughout is that Trump is a great man who can work with Putin, while Ukraine needs to shut up, show gratitude, and take what is coming to it. Trump makes that clear when he criticizes the Ukrainians for basically wanting to fight for their freedom and not cave in to Putin, which he terms being “very disrespectful to this country” (this country being the USA—in other words, himself).

Then Trump and Vance go on what can only be called the great gratitude rant. Even though the USA under Trump has approved not a single new dollar in aid for Ukraine, Trump and Vance want Zelensky to constantly say thank you to them. Its, as always, an attempt to be humiliate a democratic state and for Trump to take credit for something other people have done. As Vance finally snaps. “Just say thank you.”

And then Trump lets the cat out of the bag. This was not a meeting or disagreement over the minerals deal. He was trying to pressure Zelensky into agreeing a cease fire along Putin’s lines and Zelensky refused. Trump comes out and says that explicitly at the end.

“You’re buried there. Your people are dying. You’re running low on soldiers. No, listen … And then you tell us, ‘I don’t want a ceasefire. I don’t want a ceasefire. I want to go and I want this… You’re not acting at all thankful. And that’s not a nice thing. I’ll be honest, that’s not a nice thing.

So there we have it. Ukraine should shut up and take Trump’s and Putin’s terms. It is not an independent, sovereign, democratic state, it is a dictator’s plaything which should be eternally grateful for the scraps from Trump’s and Putin’s table.

And Europe would have received that same dictation tomorrow. Trump’s plan is to rehabilitate Russia, to make it a partner of the USA, and to try and remake the world. Just the other day, Trump had Secretary of Defense Hegseth remove Russia as a target of US cyber planning. Russia has been one of the greatest cyber threats to US freedom and democracy for years—and the US is basically offering them free rein.

Thankfully when Zelensky was confronted with the bullying from Trump to just say thank you and shut up—the Ukrainian president said no. It was a moment that showed both freedom and democracy are not dead—even if they are hanging by a precarious thread.

Now Europeans and Americans who think likewise need to get to work.

First, Europeans of good will must do everything possible to push their governments to back Ukraine to win. European states have the economic and technological resources to make a massive difference in this war—what they has lacked is the self-confidence to act on their own and for their own interests. No more talks of soothing Trump’s ego, of building bridges to Trump, or finding someway to appeal to him. Trump, and the USA while he runs it, is with Putin and needs to be treated as a hostile power to European freedom and democracy.

Second, Americans of good will must focus on fighting Trumpism in the 2026 mid-term elections. Nothing will really change until then—as Trump has control of the UD government in an unchallenged way til then. He will do what he wants. The US is in a brutal struggle and the forces opposed to democracy are in charge. The only way to resist them will be to wrest away parts of the US government, and the first step in doing that will be the 2026 midterms.

For a while that means that Europe and the USA will need to part ways. Backers of freedom and democracy in each will have their own battles for the next few years. Maybe in the future they can collaborate more—and be stronger for it.

But for now they must look to their own situations

Transcript

Zelenskyy: What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you are asking about? What do you mean?

Vance: I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country.

Zelenskyy: Yes, but if you …

Vance: Mr President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media. Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the frontlines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president.

Zelenskyy: Have you ever been to Ukraine to see the problems we have?

Vance: I’ve actually watched and seen the stories, and I know what happens is you bring people on a propaganda tour, Mr President.

Do you disagree that you’ve had problems with bringing people in your military, and do you think that it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?

Zelenskyy: First of all, during the war, everybody has problems, even you. You have nice solutions and don’t feel [it] now, but you will feel it in the future.

Trump: You don’t know that. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.

Zelenskyy: I am not telling you, I am answering …

Vance: That’s exactly what you’re doing …

Trump, raising his voice: You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel. We’re going to feel very good and very strong.

Zelenskyy tries to speak.

Trump: You right now are not in a very good position. You’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position. You don’t have the cards right now. With us, you start having the cards.

You’re gambling with lives of millions of people, you’re gambling with world war three and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to this country.

Vance: Have you said thank you once?

Zelenskyy: A lot of times.

Vance: No, in this meeting, this entire meeting? Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who’s trying to save your country.

Zelenskyy: Yes, you think that if you will speak very loudly about the war …

Trump: He’s not speaking loud. Your country is in big trouble. No, no, you’ve done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble.

Zelenskyy: I know, I know.

Trump: You’re not winning this. You have a damn good chance of coming out OK, because of us.

Zelenskyy: We are staying strong from the very beginning of the war, we have been alone, and we are saying, I said, thanks.

Trump, speaking over Zelenskyy: You haven’t been alone … We gave you military equipment. Your men are brave, but they had our military. If you didn’t have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks.

Zelenskyy: I heard it from Putin in three days.

Trump: It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this.

Vance: Just say thank you.

Zelenskyy: I said it a lot of times.

Vance: Accept that there are disagreements and let’s go litigate those disagreements rather than trying to fight it in the American media, when you’re wrong. We know that you’re wrong.

Trump: You’re buried there. Your people are dying. You’re running low on soldiers. No, listen … And then you tell us, ‘I don’t want a ceasefire. I don’t want a ceasefire. I want to go and I want this.’

Trump: You’re not acting at all thankful. And that’s not a nice thing. I’ll be honest, that’s not a nice thing.

All right, I think we’ve seen enough. What do you think? Great television. I will say that.