How Zelensky misunderstood Trump’s SITUATION
Don’t make a man say something explicit that he can only make implicit
Trump has a SITUATION.
He is trying to reduce foreign entanglements and foreign expenses.
He wants America to do less and Europe to do more.
If possible he wants to reduce overall military spending.
He has proposed mutual 50% cuts to both Russia and China.
He wants to bring troops home, if possible, not commit more troops to more overseas tasks.
Some of this is due to temperament. Trump wants to get a return on our money. He sees foreign commitments as giveaways that don’t give America a clear economic benefit.
I suspect he is also motivated by a desire to NOT cut entitlements.
That means cuts must come elsewhere to lower interest expenses and the inflation caused by monetizing debt.
These considerations are why Trump does not want to give Ukraine publicly stated security guarantees.
That would sound like a commitment to put troops on the ground.
Trump does not want that and MAGA does not want that. Most Americans, MAGA or not, probably don’t want that.
But Zelensky kept pressuring Trump, with the cameras rolling, to provide exactly what Trump’s situation did not allow him to offer.
Zelensky was trying to make a formal security guarantee — potential troops on the ground — a part of the already negotiated mineral deal he was supposedly there to sign.
Zelensky failed to understand Trump’s situation and his psychology
Don’t try to make a man say something explicit that he can only make implicit.
Zelensky also failed to understand something else fundamental. By making a mineral deal, part of which also ensured that the money America invests to rebuild Ukraine would go to American contractors, Trump was achieving multiple goals at once…
- America would get a return on its money
- Ukraine would get an implied sense that America might protect its investment if Putin threatened it
- Putin would get a strong message that Ukraine could never be his, and that Donbas might be his only possible prize in a peace negotiation.
- Europe would get a strong signal that it must do more because America will not
Wow. Let’s say it differently so it will be clear just how much Zelensky would get…
- Zelensky gets continued American money for weapons and rebuilding
- Zelensky gets the biggest, richest country in the world as an INTERESTED partner
- Zelensky gets an implied but not formally stated security guarantee (to protect the mines)
- Zelensky gets the security of knowing that Putin can now never take Ukraine
- Zelensky gets an almost certain increase in European support, and perhaps even European boots on the ground to compensate for what Trump cannot explicitly provide.
Let me say it again — WOW!
The only thing Zelensky could not possibly get is a formally stated U.S. security guarantee. And yet, that is what he focused on at the cost of losing all those other benefits.
Let me say it again: Don’t try to make a man say something explicit that he can only make implicit.
Is the loss permanent? I don’t think so. Not at all. Zelensky just needs to understand and show respect for Trump’s SITUATION.
Come on Zelensky, do it! Don’t snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Respect the man’s situation!
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Copyright © Perry Willis 2025
Perry Willis is the co-founder of Downsize DC and the Zero Aggression Project. He co-created, with Jim Babka, the Read the Bills Act, the One Subject at a Time Act, and the Write the Laws Act, all of which have been introduced in Congress. He is a past Executive Director of the national Libertarian Party and was the campaign manager for Harry Browne for President in 2000.
