Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy knows how to get the European Union laughing—at Donald Trump.
EU leaders met in Brussels for the conclusion of the European Council summit Friday, where they closed ranks around Ukraine in its ongoing war with Vladimir Putin’s Russia. During one press conference, Zelenskiy was asked if he felt Trump was making him a “scapegoat” before America’s November midterm elections.
“President Trump is facing pretty difficult midterm elections. His personal popularity is very low, diesel prices in the U.S. are very high, and the war that he started in the Middle East is not going the way he wants it,” the Sky News reporter asked. “Do you think you are being treated as a scapegoat for his own problems?”
Zelenskiy took a long pause, glanced at the papers on his podium, and then looked up, smiling. The whole room laughed.
“This is my answer,” Zelenskiy said.
It is painfully obvious to anyone paying attention that Zelenskiy is being scapegoated for Trump’s disastrous second-term record. Only two days ago, SpaceX throttled Ukraine’s access to the Starlink satellite internet network with no warning. On Friday, The Telegraph reported that Elon Musk went to the White House to specifically discuss the cuts ahead of time. “The reality is that they were both in it,” one source said of Musk’s and Trump’s plan.
Trump has also recently ramped up his public criticism of Zelenskiy and Ukraine, specifically for continuing to attack Russian oil refineries after the U.S. lifted sanctions on Russian oil in a misguided attempt to bring down diesel prices before the midterms.
Judging by the laughter in Brussels, however, Trump is not fooling most of our allies. Ukraine is no more responsible for high gas prices in the U.S. than the empty seats at the president’s rallies or the blue momentum building in deep-red states. Look in the mirror, grandpa.