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Michael McCune Analysis: Zelenskyy White House Meeting (good read)
Benson Chit Chat ^ | 3/1/2025 | Michael McCune

Posted on 03/01/2025 6:01:45 AM PST by WeaslesRippedMyFlesh

[Hat tip to Freeper Beowulf9 for finding this]

Many of you probably watched what took place between Donald Trump and Zelenskyy tonight. Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, you might be thinking to yourself, Oh my God, Donald Trump just screwed up. However, as a lifelong practitioner of martial arts, strategy, and philosophy, let me explain the difference between what you believe you witnessed and what actually happened.

Donald Trump has been under constant political persecution since the beginning of his first term. Over time, he has learned to be patient and calculated. Tonight, Zelenskyy was invited to the Oval Office. However, both Trump and JD Vance knew exactly what Zelenskyy was going to do—he would use this opportunity, in front of the American people, to make a power play. Both Trump and Vance anticipated this. When Zelenskyy began appealing to the emotions of the American people, JD Vance stepped in, accusing him of disrespecting Donald Trump. This was brilliant strategy. It’s important to understand that Zelenskyy is trying to gain access to NATO.

Trump knew this but could not allow it to happen. If Ukraine joins NATO, the U.S. would be bound by NATO’s collective defense agreement—an attack on one is an attack on all.

Now consider the larger implications: Ukraine and Russia despise each other. If Ukraine were to become a NATO member, any future skirmish between them would obligate the U.S. to enter into direct conflict with Russia. This would mean World War III. And if that happened, China would have to choose a side—they would almost certainly align with Russia. So what you witnessed tonight was a setup. Trump and JD Vance knew that the only way to achieve peace was to strategically align, at least on the surface, with Russia. Why? Because Russia would never sign a peace treaty if Ukraine were admitted into NATO. This is why Trump dismantled Zelenskyy’s argument. And when Zelenskyy, seeing his play failing, tried to backtrack and offer a treaty, Trump refused.

Zelenskyy’s real intent was clear—he would not agree to peace unless security guarantees were in place. But what was he actually saying? That NATO must accept Ukraine. However, Russia would never agree to peace, knowing that NATO, their historical adversary, would surround them. Zelenskyy, Putin, and Trump all knew this. Zelenskyy, thinking he had Democrats' support, believed he could make this bold move on live television. But Trump and Vance saw right through it and outmaneuvered him. They knew that, in the short term, Democrats and the media would try to use this moment against them. But they also knew they had two years before midterms to prove their strategy was the right one. So they held their ground—brilliantly so.

Now, Zelenskyy will have no choice but to back down and accept Trump's terms. But here’s the genius part—Trump is actually protecting Ukraine without dragging the U.S. into war.

By negotiating a mineral deal, Trump ensures that Americans will be involved in Ukraine’s mining industry. This prevents Russia from launching an invasion, because attacking Ukraine would mean endangering American lives—something that would force the U.S. to respond.

Trump played both sides like a master chess player. In the end, Zelenskyy will have no choice but to concede, because without U.S. support, Ukraine cannot win a prolonged war against Russia. And once U.S. companies have mining operations in Ukraine, Putin will be unable to attack without triggering massive international consequences.

Don’t underestimate Donald Trump. In this game of chess, he’s 10 moves ahead of everyone.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; Politics/Elections; Russia; Ukraine; War
KEYWORDS: littlezimplodes; michaelmccune; russiahascards; trump; ukrainehasnocards; vance; whitehouse; zelenskyy
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To: Robert DeLong

No. Don’t have time.


21 posted on 03/01/2025 6:31:00 AM PST by WeaslesRippedMyFlesh (C)
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To: equaviator

Lazy response.

What did you think of the analysis?


22 posted on 03/01/2025 6:32:02 AM PST by WeaslesRippedMyFlesh (C)
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To: glennaro

If Trump gets the deal, everyone wins except the TDS sufferers.


23 posted on 03/01/2025 6:34:04 AM PST by AppyPappy (If Hitler were alive today and criticized Trump, would he still be Hitler?)
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To: BroJoeK
Zelensky thinks he can get enough help from the Euros to keep the war going, and that Ukraine can then outlast Russia in their war of attrition.

I guess I don't get the strategy. At this point, Russia has 5 times the population. Z can get all the Euro arms he'd ever want, but, as JD pointed out yesterday, he already has teams going out to grab conscripts, so he's running out of cannon-fodder.

At this point, it's all about "will to fight" and who will lose it first. I'll give Z points on that one, because it seems like the Russkies are having less of it all the time.
24 posted on 03/01/2025 6:37:03 AM PST by BikerJoe
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To: FlingWingFlyer

I think it was more like the smack down that Michael Corleone gave to Moe Greene and we all know what happened to Moe, Carlo, and the heads of the 5 families.


25 posted on 03/01/2025 6:37:18 AM PST by shotgun
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To: WeaslesRippedMyFlesh

That works for me.


26 posted on 03/01/2025 6:38:35 AM PST by Robert DeLong
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To: WeaslesRippedMyFlesh

And once U.S. companies have mining operations in Ukraine, Putin will be unable to attack without triggering massive international consequences.

That will not stop Putin who has never honored any agreement he signed. Its about restoring the USSR. All of it.

Even now they are talking about the eventual war with NATO. Any pause will just give Putin the troops he needs freed up to take the Suwaki Gap and link up with Kaliniingrad.


27 posted on 03/01/2025 6:40:12 AM PST by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: WeaslesRippedMyFlesh

Zelenskyy wants never ending cash for nothing in return


28 posted on 03/01/2025 6:41:40 AM PST by butlerweave
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To: WeaslesRippedMyFlesh

Most of us here on FreeRepublic had that figured out long ago. I don’t think Trump can trust Zelenski not to blow things up when everyone is at the table.

He’s not going to drag us into a war. If the Europeans want him in NATO then they had better get used to NATO without the US.


29 posted on 03/01/2025 6:44:52 AM PST by McGavin999 ( A sense of humor is a sign of intelligence, leftists have no sense of humor, therefore……)
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To: WeaslesRippedMyFlesh

I’m comfortable with my own understanding of it this morning and it may change again in another month when what happened yesterday wouldn’t matter as much as what happens three months from now.


30 posted on 03/01/2025 6:45:23 AM PST by equaviator (If 60 is the new 40 then 35 must be the new 15.)
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To: Uncle Miltie

Vance was intuitive enough to pick up on Zelensky’s bad attitude and no gratitude.


31 posted on 03/01/2025 6:48:47 AM PST by FreedBird (p)
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To: cuban leaf

Hopkins. Still great after all these years. Well worth the 6 minutes. She always cuts through the crap. Loved it.


32 posted on 03/01/2025 6:53:52 AM PST by Lakeshark (Trump. He stands for the great issues of the day. Stay the course!)
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To: WeaslesRippedMyFlesh

2 comments...1) Zelenskyy wasn’t invited to the WH. He pushed his way in after taking advice from his own chief of staff to ask for an invitation and against the advice of Gen. Kellog. Gen. Kellogg tried to disuade him from doing a public meeting with Trump, to no avail.
2)
Zelenskyy was prepped ahead of time by his own people & members of Congress as to what the itinerary was and what he should do & say (and not say) in the Oval Office before they headed across the hall to do the actual signing. Again, Zelenskyy didn’t take the advice.


33 posted on 03/01/2025 6:53:53 AM PST by nuconvert ( Warning: Accused of being a radical militarist. Approach with caution.)
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To: WeaslesRippedMyFlesh

Zelensky and the EU set up Trump. He went with the intentions of throwing the mineral agreement back at Trump‘s face after all the negotiation that happened before he landed on our soil. He handed the EU and the nasty evil corrupt Democrats a lifeline. Only time will tell what the outcome is from all this dust up. How conveniently that every eu leaders were waiting in the UK for Zelensky to make his arrival and if you noticed all the texts on social media from them were in the same format. This is the beginning I believe of Trump fighting for Americans and his presidential existence. They’re gonna come at him from every which way. 🙏🏻If you are a praying person and you’ve been praying for him you’re gonna have to double up because it’s gonna get rough from here on. Remember what the Lord said in His holy scriptures, a house divided cannot stand. America is at that point right now we are so divided to the point that half of the population whole heartedly want America to fail and disappear. We are in a fight of our lifetime! God help us!🙏🏻


34 posted on 03/01/2025 6:56:05 AM PST by RoseofTexas
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To: equaviator

With Zelenskyy signaling he doesn’t want peace without our money or NATO, we are stopping support and help to rebuild their infrastructure.

Zelenskyy needs the EU to fund the war and possibly provide troops.

EU promises support, but nobodies writing billion dollar checks.

Putin knows this and now has a green light to finish the job. He has a windo of opportunity to light up Ukraine now that Zelenskyy walked away from the table with no support from anyone.


35 posted on 03/01/2025 6:56:08 AM PST by WeaslesRippedMyFlesh (C)
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To: WeaslesRippedMyFlesh

I hesitate to theorize because I’m keenly aware of how quickly things can change...for better or worse.


36 posted on 03/01/2025 7:05:08 AM PST by equaviator (If 60 is the new 40 then 35 must be the new 15.)
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To: WeaslesRippedMyFlesh

I’m just happy Trump is keeping us out of WWIII.

Sometimes I go back to old arguments and see how they fly. Decades ago, I conversed with a guy I thought of as “the office Democrat.” His cubicle looked like Democratic party headquarters. The Soviet Union had the Warsaw Pact back then. The office Democrat told me that Russia needed a buffer because it suffered from invasions from Napoleon and Hitler. So, the Democrat position was that Russia needed a 21 nation buffer.

Now, Democrats insist that Russia does not need any kind of buffer at all. For myself, I don’t think NATO needs to border Russia.


37 posted on 03/01/2025 7:07:38 AM PST by ChessExpert (The Democratic party must be destroyed.)
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To: WeaslesRippedMyFlesh

bfl


38 posted on 03/01/2025 7:12:36 AM PST by Skooz (Gabba Gabba accept you we accept you one of us Gabba Gabba we accept you we accept you one of us )
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To: WeaslesRippedMyFlesh

I saw a post on X. A picture of Zelensky with the caption “Leader of the Free World.” My immediate reply was “That’s what he thinks.”

I think Zelensky, Democrats, the MSM, and Europeans think they can intimidate President Trump. They were all in this together. I’m steamed.


39 posted on 03/01/2025 7:19:47 AM PST by ChessExpert (The Democratic party must be destroyed.)
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To: ChessExpert

he is kidnapping and consripting teenagers to fight
he is worth a billion dollars
he cancelled elections
he launders money for other nations

he is not the leader of the free world


40 posted on 03/01/2025 7:30:03 AM PST by WeaslesRippedMyFlesh (C)
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