So much of the language around Trump is about power and specifically about making him look powerful. Journalists today writing that Zelenskyy 'bends' to Trump or 'kisses the ring'. You could equally say that he is successfully manipulating Trump.
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I don’t think anything about he recent rounds of world leaders trying to win over Trump has made him look powerful. It’s made him look like a petulant toddler. I was so embarrassed for him when Starmer pulled out that letter. ‘What a special little boy’ and he lapped it up. Cringe
Yeah, i really don't think people realise the point here. Trump's a coward and desperate for praise. His ego is immensely weak to two things: flattery and the counter punch. When he's flattered, you're his best friend. When you thump him after he attacks you, he caves. So, we manage him.
Thing to watch today: tarrifs. Canada basically took the gloves off yesterday and said "OK, fists". Trump reacted as expected to Trudeus "Donald" barb. But now watch. They will surrender and claim victory. Again. He wants applause, not a real win.
“Manipulate” can work, but it gives the wrong impression. It suggests skill and deftness, rather than a blunt imposition of will. “Kiss the ring” is accurate, because it is power rather than skill that has brought Zelenskyy to heel.
It all helps take attention away from Zelenskyy actually having played the situation pretty well.
As Macron and Starmer demonstrated, flattering Trump is definitely the key and although it is distasteful it buys Zelenskyy and the EU/UK some valuable time to get themselves a concrete position
I don’t think you can. It may be understandable but essentially that is exactly what Zelenskyy is doing. Also of course he will ultimately be forced to do the same to Putin
Anyone who's worked with a narcissistic bully client will recognise Trump's behaviour and his constant need to feel he's in charge. Loathesome as it is to get anything done you have to let them feel like they're 'winning'.
Didn't we seem the same language and articles about Canada and the tariff discussion last month, giving things they were already giving and 'successfully' getting the tariff threat removed? And yet here we are with Tariffs going back on again.
He’s implementing tariffs due to the terms of the trade deal between the US and Canada. He asked who signed off the deal and it was the guy who was president before Biden….
Peter Hartcher’s piece in the Sydney Morning Herald today eviscerated trump , and likened Zelenskyy humiliation to Stalin’s “struggle sessions “ performative.
He's shown once again that he's by far the better man. He knows they need the American defence systems to protect his cities and is doing what he can to hopefully secure them. Flattery and subservience are what make Trump tick
I can't believe Zelenskyy is doing anything other than damage limitation. He knows what trump is and that he will sell him out at the first opportunity.
you could say that- what seems to be missing from the discourse is also the overarching sense that neither Trump nor Vance really have any grasp of history or culture. They seem to just have woken up one day and said: I want to rule without having any qualifications really to take this on.
That's exactly what Michael Cohen says and if anyone should know how Trump's mind works it's his former attorney who now cannot stand him. - his podcast is interesting!
For decades Trump has been paid vast sums by Russians buying his real estate. The dollars and dots are now connecting as Donald is dancing for Putin. The danger is real; a self inflicted boycott of America is needed, as money is the only language he speaks. Time for action before it’s too late.
Same goes for the language around the conflict. Calling it a "war" creates a false sense of equivalence between both parties.
Calling it what it is, an "invasion" reveals the absurdity of the American position in pressuring the invaded party to stop the invasion, rather than the invader.
Interesting to see the difference in framing here between the Telegraph (naked fascist agitprop rag) with "Zelensky bows to Trump pressure" vs the Daily Mail (hard-right UK populism magazine) with "Zelensky's olive branch to Trump". Suspect it shows the gulf between UK opinion and US interests....
My husband has this take on Trump. He sees him as a natural bully/coward who’s easy manipulated and people should be trying to think more around him than with him.
Oh he is. He hasn’t actually given anything he hadn’t last week. But Trump is suddenly flattered. If Zelenskyy is prepared to give the impression of movement he’ll probably be looked on as the stronger leader in the history books.
So much nonsense about his deal making skills. Journalists should actually look at his business record, which is full of failures. And he didn’t write a word of ‘his’ book on the subject.
His actions over the last few weeks is all about revenge against anyone that didn’t take his side in 2016 and that includes Zelensky who refused to lie about Hunter Biden. Trump is just a petulant child who is used to getting his own way! He then uses his power to get back at those who stop that!
Drawing him out into the open, giving him enough rope, and then bugging out for a while. Valid strategy, rallying a lot of support. Now to play Putin against Trump. Who knows, maybe Russia and Europe could ease their differences and then where does Trump stand?
However, since Trump is such a media addict, perhaps it has to be framed / broadcast this way to move the process on. Which is sad but perhaps inevitable when dealing with such massive egos / low self esteem.
Starmer successfully manipulated Trump on his visit. Zelenskyy otoh failed, and it wasn’t after he met Starmer that he figured out how to approach him. We won’t know if it’s successful til much later b/c we also don’t know how much Trump is in Putins pocket
A certain demographic in the US and UK are living their weird little power fetish through the likes of Trump, Vance and Farage, when in reality they are shithouses who in the majority of cases have failed in life
The poor guy is trying to hang onto any kind of democracy & he needs to succeed in that before he gets to the finer points of how healthy it is. Sadly, we ourselves can’t claim to have had a robust, healthy democracy over the past 14 years.
I completely agree. I just despise the hoops he now has to jump through in order to achieve those goals. Trump isn't fit to shine the mans shoes and yet here we are.
This "strong leader" bollocks. When he's the most cowardly, insecure little man in existence but we have this backwards logic when you bully the weakest and desperate from a position of power & impunity it somehow makes you look tough.
Which also manifests itself in the toxic manosphere of Tate.
I’m no media analyst but doesn’t it pay the press to keep the soap element v foamy? Trump betrayals and power plays v good for business, no? Tedious diplomacy is much less clicky I assume
It is genuinely astonishing how anyone can look at Trump and see authority or power - perhaps he has a presence in person, but he appears clueless, arrogant, brash, and entitled.
Of course, self-interest can be persuasive, but it would be quite hard to avoid laughing at him, I would think ...
There is a cabal of British news journalists from different channels that seem to decide collectively what they want a story to be and then push forward on that, ignoring all developments in pursuit of the story they have already decided on. You probably know who I mean
For Zelensky to agree an immediate truce puts the question back to Putin. Let Putin openly state what he wants for a truce. Beyond not joining NATO or even the EU, let the world know what outrageous demands he has.
The cosying up, the toadying, the indulgence of this buffoon, is such a bad example to set our young people. I am livid and disgusted. There’s never been a man born more in need of a kick to the stones, and that’s saying a lot.
I remember on Sky News one of the presenters saying about how exciting a second Trump presidency would be for the media. They are there to challenge power not treat it as entertainment.
He made no apology. He affirmed a desire to sign a deal he anyway intended to sign. He reiterated his openness to peace talks, as he has before. His position has not changed in the slightest but he's secured a warmer response.
I agree. He's behaving as the adult, but also strategically (play nice until Europe can step up so Ukraine has a long-term future) as opposed to Trump's short-term, tactical aims (claim a brilliant, personal victory, who cares on what terms, and move on to the next phase of the news cycle)
It's exactly the same approach Canada did when tariffs were first announced & then deferred a month ago. Canada's position hadn't budged an inch (the extra patrols 'agreed' had already been signed off on well before the tariffs threat) but it made it falsely look like they'd bent the knee to Trump.
He's also set reasonable terms for a ceasefire which are still far beyond anything Trump and his controller Putin were proposing and very likely to be rejected by Russia. Who will be accused of not wanting peace when that happens?
I understand why those trying to shift Trump's position, like Starmer, would put it to him in this way. I'm not sure why journalists feel the need to do likewise.
Possibly because that’s all Trump cares about. Even if he thinks he’s being played, if the media say he isn’t then that’s what matters to him (and arguably everyone if this is to be resolved)
True but if those journalists (despite their crass motivation and sheer idleness) help persuade Trump he’s won something, I guess we don’t care on this particular occasion about their abysmal journalistic standards?
We need to buy a little more time to wean ourselves off the US.
The same is true for leverage. Much is made of Ukraine's reliance on US equipment. But we rarely acknowledge that Washington *cannot* practically force a peace deal on Ukraine. Even if Kiev fell, it could maintain a guerilla campaign.
They couldn’t take Kyiv with their best armed forces and equipment and localised air superiority. I’m not sure they have a hope in hell of doing it now, with Ukraine left hanging by the US.
Russia taking Ukraine is one thing. Holding long term is another. US occupation of Iraq cost about $100m a day. Ukraine population many fluent Russian speakers can blend into Russian population and launch attacks inside Russia itself.
They also forget that the US had already transferred almost all the weapons the Biden administration authorised, and the Trump administration had already made it clear that it wouldn't authorise more.
If Europe steps up, and it looks like it will, they can more than replace any US shortfall.
If the US stops it's intelligence, cyber warfare with electronic blocking + satellite system that's a major difference from the past
It would make it extremely difficult (sadly) for the Ukrainian forces to be effective
See also the BBC's "please watch this 5 minute fact check of Trump's latest statements" as opposed to "The president lied again today"
I have yet to see one in his favour but the refusal to call him a liar is clear...a world leader lying is news, isn't it?
It could and it would maintain a guerilla campaign. Russia lacks military equipment, tanks, etc all poorly maintained old equipment. If not, it would have swarmed Ukraine. At this rate it'd take 50 years. Ukranians have become masters of unconventional warfare.
Even though there's now more criticism of Trump and his policies, there's an unstated acceptance of his basic power narrative, even among sceptical or neutral reporters. It's unhelpful, but more importantly it is superficial and misleading.
@iandunt.bsky.social he's also destroying his own economy and alienated/sacked all the "DEI" military so his threats are only going to get less intimidating
This dynamic with the press has been so with him even before 2015. He's a fraud at the cellular level. It's 100% words not reality or results. The press has always facilitated it, adopted the narrative he pushes.
I feel that the media in general are still trying to fit what's going on into a world where leaders lead and have strategies. This 'Trump-washing' happened during his last term too. A lot of the time he's just acting emotionally and it's everyone else trying to work around it.
The only explanation for all this that makes sense (barring Kompromat, pettiness, or cognitive decline) is that Trump fears that Putin without a face-saving way out may lead to nuclear war.
But in reality, all that the USA has done is ensure nuclear proliferation.
Every country is saying collectively or individually, "How do we stop this happening to us?"
And that WW3 blather from Trump is what Putin's propagandists have been saying for 3 years.
I had a manager who rejected every recommendation I made, the one day I walked into his office and said you won't want to do this. His response - why not?
At this point, sign what you like. The US has reneged on its NATO and USMCA treaty responsibilities, not to mention the 1994 treaty protecting Ukraine. In that case, I don't see why anyone else should be expected to keep to their side of the bargain.
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And one of the advisers said “Why does it have to be convincing? This is Trump that we are dealing with.”
As Macron and Starmer demonstrated, flattering Trump is definitely the key and although it is distasteful it buys Zelenskyy and the EU/UK some valuable time to get themselves a concrete position
Pride and intransigence is a luxury reserved for those whose actions are of no consequence.
and would have no interest in being prez if his country wasn't a superpower
Calling it what it is, an "invasion" reveals the absurdity of the American position in pressuring the invaded party to stop the invasion, rather than the invader.
He couldn't have got that more wrong if he tried😂🤦♀️
It isn't his fault but he has been royally fucked over here, and ultimately has lost.
And as every parent knows, sometimes you just have to pick your battles…!
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/picture/2025/mar/01/blood-sweat-tears-and-body-shaming-a-cartoonists-guide-to-becoming-a-mother
Zelenskyy may be playing the clever game here but this is not how healthy democracies function.
Which also manifests itself in the toxic manosphere of Tate.
Of course, self-interest can be persuasive, but it would be quite hard to avoid laughing at him, I would think ...
This is practically Daily Mail language. No one calls that journalism either...
The media is by far the largest disappointment in this whole story.
We need to buy a little more time to wean ourselves off the US.
Probably made up from mercenaries from random foreign armies who...........
If Europe steps up, and it looks like it will, they can more than replace any US shortfall.
European support for Ukraine is already a lot stronger this time.
People also forget Russia's weakness, running out of armour and money.
It would make it extremely difficult (sadly) for the Ukrainian forces to be effective
I have yet to see one in his favour but the refusal to call him a liar is clear...a world leader lying is news, isn't it?
Yet in the 1st 2 weeks of the Russian invasion, I believe resistance was mostly local.
GTWTWOYT
Terrible acronym; it stands for Give Them What They Want On Your Terms.
Team Zelenskyy nailing it.
Today’s gem on Zelenskyy “grovelling” is probably the worst
Every country is saying collectively or individually, "How do we stop this happening to us?"
And that WW3 blather from Trump is what Putin's propagandists have been saying for 3 years.
'The ICJ has ruled it is genocide - but there are two sides to every story'
'You need austerity to get us back on track - it's not the bankers fault'
Our decline has a remarkable overlap with journalists becoming courtiers
Best way to get what his country needs
#SlavaUkraïni
A new world of opportunities opened that day.