Ben Rhodes

Yeah, two things stand out to me about this. First, just so people know what Zelensky is talking about, he's talking about the Minsk agreement that was reached in the late Obama administration to essentially freeze the conflict and have some kind of process whereby the Ukrainians had autonomous regions in these places where the Russians had invaded in eastern Ukraine. And what he's saying is,

Yeah, two things stand out to me about this. First, just so people know what Zelensky is talking about, he's talking about the Minsk agreement that was reached in the late Obama administration to essentially freeze the conflict and have some kind of process whereby the Ukrainians had autonomous regions in these places where the Russians had invaded in eastern Ukraine. And what he's saying is,

Putin broke the ceasefire. The last time someone tried to do what Trump's doing, you know, Putin is the one that violated the agreement and reinvaded the country and dramatically escalated. And that's just a fact. It's not an opinion. You know, so this is going to be a reoccurring theme here that Zelensky's saying facts and J.D. Vance and Trump are just basically offering excuses.

Putin broke the ceasefire. The last time someone tried to do what Trump's doing, you know, Putin is the one that violated the agreement and reinvaded the country and dramatically escalated. And that's just a fact. It's not an opinion. You know, so this is going to be a reoccurring theme here that Zelensky's saying facts and J.D. Vance and Trump are just basically offering excuses.

Kremlin talking points in response.

Kremlin talking points in response.

And then, Tommy, I said this to you, but for JD Vance to refer to visits that people make to Ukraine as propaganda tours was one of the most triggering things in many that were said today, because what people do when they go to Ukraine is they often visit Bucha, for instance, where there were war crimes committed, where innocent civilians were massacred, where children were killed.

And then, Tommy, I said this to you, but for JD Vance to refer to visits that people make to Ukraine as propaganda tours was one of the most triggering things in many that were said today, because what people do when they go to Ukraine is they often visit Bucha, for instance, where there were war crimes committed, where innocent civilians were massacred, where children were killed.

And to call that a propaganda tour is so beyond the pale It's essentially him calling the truth propaganda. When people go to Ukraine, what they see is the reality of a country that's been invaded and bombarded and had tens of thousands of children kidnapped and tens of thousands of people killed. And J.D. Vance calls that the propaganda. And it's it's up is down. It's black is white.

And to call that a propaganda tour is so beyond the pale It's essentially him calling the truth propaganda. When people go to Ukraine, what they see is the reality of a country that's been invaded and bombarded and had tens of thousands of children kidnapped and tens of thousands of people killed. And J.D. Vance calls that the propaganda. And it's it's up is down. It's black is white.

It's just 180 degrees wrong. And I agree with you, Tommy. It felt like J.D. Vance was setting a trap, like he was getting trying to provoke Zelensky to say something that would piss off Trump. Yeah. Which is a pretty fucking dark role for him to be playing.

It's just 180 degrees wrong. And I agree with you, Tommy. It felt like J.D. Vance was setting a trap, like he was getting trying to provoke Zelensky to say something that would piss off Trump. Yeah. Which is a pretty fucking dark role for him to be playing.

Yeah. And this context was entirely missing. They seem to be offended by Zelensky pointing out that his country was invaded by Putin. That seemed to offend Trump and J.D. Vance. And I think another piece of context here, Tommy, is Zelensky is a profoundly exhausted person. And you can see it on his face. You can see it on his face. I've heard this from some Europeans.

Yeah. And this context was entirely missing. They seem to be offended by Zelensky pointing out that his country was invaded by Putin. That seemed to offend Trump and J.D. Vance. And I think another piece of context here, Tommy, is Zelensky is a profoundly exhausted person. And you can see it on his face. You can see it on his face. I've heard this from some Europeans.

This guy probably barely sleeps at night. He has been besieged by the Trump administration, bullied into trying to sign this absurd deal for critical minerals. And he flies to Washington because he feels this thing slipping away from him, this thing being US support as kind of a Hail Mary.

This guy probably barely sleeps at night. He has been besieged by the Trump administration, bullied into trying to sign this absurd deal for critical minerals. And he flies to Washington because he feels this thing slipping away from him, this thing being US support as kind of a Hail Mary.

And then he sits down and they bring the cameras in and he just starts getting insulted to his face by people who can demonstrate no degree of empathy. I mean, like they don't even, not even a perfunctory, you know, tribute to what the people of Ukraine have done. And they insulted not just Zelensky, this is important, They insulted the Ukrainian people.

And then he sits down and they bring the cameras in and he just starts getting insulted to his face by people who can demonstrate no degree of empathy. I mean, like they don't even, not even a perfunctory, you know, tribute to what the people of Ukraine have done. And they insulted not just Zelensky, this is important, They insulted the Ukrainian people.

He said the only people you can get to fight are conscripts that you force to the front line. So that's insulting the troops. That's insulting the Ukrainians that have been fighting and saying they don't want to be there. They're only there because Zelensky made them go there. When in fact, Putin is the one that conscripts people. Putin is the one that did the mobilization.

He said the only people you can get to fight are conscripts that you force to the front line. So that's insulting the troops. That's insulting the Ukrainians that have been fighting and saying they don't want to be there. They're only there because Zelensky made them go there. When in fact, Putin is the one that conscripts people. Putin is the one that did the mobilization.