(A)Political - March 1st

Good morning everyone,

The Ides of March are coming. Let’s get into it!

Trump and Zelensky went at each other, and in a very public way over bringing the war to an end. The first phase of Epstein files have been released to the public, but the backlash from the lack of new information has drawn bigger headlines. Tim Cook announced the largest ever spending commitment in Apple’s history, and it all goes to spur economic growth within the country.

• Heat Between Zelensky & Trump Goes Public

• 1st Tranche of Epstein Documents Released

• The Big Apple

• We got hundreds of emails, and we just dropped some merch after you all asked us to restock. All profits from this merch sale go towards the LA Firefighters Foundation!
  You can get it at our shop here.

Heat Between Zelensky & Trump Goes Public

_{By: Atlas}

What began as a diplomatic opportunity to forge a new path toward peace in Ukraine collapsed into a stunning public confrontation in the Oval Office on Friday when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky clashed with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. The explosive exchange, broadcast live to a global audience, torpedoed a carefully negotiated minerals deal and may have permanently altered the trajectory of U.S.-Ukraine relations.

The Meeting That Went Off The Rails

The tension wasn't immediately apparent. According to White House sources, the initial greeting between Trump and Zelensky in the West Wing lobby was warm, with jokes exchanged and Zelensky signing the guest book. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and his team had prepared two official binders for the signing ceremony planned for the East Room after lunch. The minerals agreement would have granted the United States access to Ukraine's vast reserves of rare earth minerals, critical for advanced technology and defense applications, in exchange for continued American support.

For forty minutes, the conversation in the Oval Office remained civil, if strained. Seated across from each other, Trump emphasized his desire for a swift end to the war, while Zelensky repeatedly insisted that peace required concrete security guarantees from the United States.

The breaking point came during the press availability portion of the meeting. As cameras rolled, Zelensky stated flatly that he would "never accept just a cease-fire," adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin had broken previous cease-fires 25 times. When Zelensky insisted that Russia must bear full responsibility as the aggressor, Trump pushed back.

"You're either going to make a deal or we're out," Trump warned, his voice rising. "You don't have the cards. With us, you have the cards—but without us, you don't have any cards."

The tension escalated further when Vice President Vance interjected, criticizing Biden administration officials for their moralistic approach to the conflict. When Zelensky turned to challenge Vance directly, asking "what kind of diplomacy" he was advocating, the vice president bristled.

"It's disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media," Vance shot back. "Have you said thank you once this entire meeting? Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems."

As Zelensky attempted to respond, Trump cut in: "You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War Three. What you're doing is very disrespectful to this country."

The president's frustration was palpable as he ended the meeting with a curt "I think we've seen enough."

The Deal That Wasn’t

Shortly after the failed meeting, Trump took to Truth Social to deliver a public rebuke of Zelensky: "I have determined that President Zelensky is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don't want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace."

White House officials confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz informed Zelensky that Trump and Vance no longer wished to continue the meeting. The planned East Room signing ceremony was scrapped, a scheduled press conference was canceled, and even a fireside chat at the Hudson Institute was called off.

The minerals deal would have been transformative for both countries. For Ukraine, it represented a critical lifeline of continued American support and investment in reconstruction. For the United States, it offered strategic access to resources essential for aerospace, defense, and nuclear industries. Treasury Secretary Bessent had described it as both safeguarding U.S. taxpayer interests and fueling Ukraine's postwar recovery, potentially transforming the war-ravaged country into a stable, prosperous ally.

Instead, officials literally removed Zelensky's place setting from the lunch table after his abrupt departure, a physical manifestation of the diplomatic rupture that had just occurred.

The Fallout

The aftershocks from the confrontation were immediate and far-reaching. Within hours, Secretary of State Rubio terminated a U.S. Agency for International Development initiative that had invested hundreds of millions of dollars to help restore Ukraine's energy grid. According to a document obtained by NBC News, the State Department also ordered the termination of a program focused on "financial sector reform activity" in Ukraine.

European leaders rushed to declare their continued support for Ukraine. Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez, German Chancellor Scholz, French President Macron, and numerous others released statements affirming their solidarity with Kyiv. EU foreign policy chief Kallas went further, writing, "Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It's up to US, Europeans, to take this challenge."

The reaction from Moscow was jubilant. Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, posted on social media that "The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office," adding that "For the first time, Trump told the truth to the cocaine clown's face."

Perhaps most tellingly, even reliable Ukraine supporters in the U.S. Congress turned on Zelensky. Senator Lindsey Graham emerged from the White House and told reporters, "I have never been more proud of the president. I was very proud of JD Vance standing up for our country. The way he handled the meeting, the way he confronted the president was just over the top. What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful. And I don't know if we can ever do business with Zelensky again."

The Path Forward

Hours after the confrontation, Zelensky broke his silence with a brief statement on social media: "Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that."

In an interview with Fox News later that evening, Zelensky admitted he "regretted" how the meeting unfolded but defended his position. "I am not sure we did something bad," he told Fox's Brett Baier. "I respect president Trump and the American people, but we have to be very honest and direct to understand each other."

The diplomatic fallout has extended beyond bilateral relations to the United Nations, where the United States is now opposing a Ukrainian-drafted resolution that explicitly blames Russia for starting the war. Instead, the U.S. has put forward its own text that refers only to the "Russia-Ukraine conflict" without assigning blame, and "implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia."

The clash at the UN, which one diplomat described as putting "the U.S. and Russia on one side against Ukraine and Europe on the other," represents the most dramatic display of trans-Atlantic tensions in years.

For Ukraine, the stakes could not be higher. Without continued American support, Kyiv faces an existential crisis in its struggle against Russian forces. For Trump, the confrontation with Zelensky served to underscore his "America First" approach to foreign policy and his determination to extricate the United States from what he views as an endless foreign entanglement.

Subscribe to (A)Political to read the rest.