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[Baker describes Zelensky’s lack of diplomatic instincts or willingness to soothe egos versus pragmatic blunt talk about being the leader of a country under siege]Peter Baker:
“…what really seemed to get under Mr. Trump’s skin during the discussion-turned-donnybrook were Mr. Zelensky’s harsh words about President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
Mr. Trump, who had nothing but good things to say about the master of the Kremlin, seemed offended on his behalf and scolded Mr. Zelensky for hostility toward the man who had invaded his country.
“He hates us,” Mr. Zelensky told Mr. Trump, trying to explain that Mr. Putin was the aggressor, not the victim. “It’s not about me. He hates Ukrainians. He thinks we are not a nation.”
While Mr. Trump last week falsely said that Ukraine “started” the war, Mr. Zelensky made clear that the president had that exactly wrong.
“Putin began this war,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Mr. Trump did not concur, and proceeded to chide Mr. Zelensky for being mean. “It’s wonderful to speak badly about somebody else,” said Mr. Trump, scorn in his voice, “but I want to get it solved.”
Mr. Trump, who has been known to speak badly about plenty of somebody-elses, including Mr. Zelensky, whom he called a “dictator” just last week, offered no sympathy for the Ukrainian view.
“This is not a love match,” he said, making clear he considered Mr. Zelensky to blame. “This is why you’re in this situation.”
A few moments later, Mr. Zelensky again cited Mr. Putin’s role in the war and suggested that Mr. Trump was listening to the Russian leader too much. In response to Mr. Trump’s comment that Ukrainian cities were destroyed, Mr. Zelensky said no, they had survived despite Russian bombardment.
“Maybe it’s Putin who’s sharing this disinformation that he destroyed us,” Mr. Zelensky said.
Mr. Trump came to Mr. Putin’s defense. “He had to suffer through the Russia hoax,” he said, referring to the investigation during his first term into Russian interference on Mr. Trump’s behalf during the 2016 election. “I think that he wants to make a deal and he’d like to see an end.”
In fact, the investigation by the special counsel Robert S. Mueller III was no hoax and concluded definitively that Mr. Putin ordered an intelligence operation to tilt the election eight years ago to Mr. Trump. Although Mr. Mueller said in his final report in 2019 that “the evidence was not sufficient to support criminal charges,” he made clear that Mr. Trump’s campaign benefited from Russian assistance. …”
In Showdown With Zelensky, Trump Takes Offense on Putin’s Behalf
Never in the past few decades at least has an American president engaged in such an angry, scathing attack on a visiting foreign leader in the Oval Office.www.nytimes.com
“… But what was particularly striking in their exchange was how much Mr. Trump seemed insulted on Mr. Putin’s behalf. He has long been an open admirer of Mr. Putin and has rarely offered any criticism of his own. Just this week, he called Mr. Putin “smart” and “cunning,” and declined to call him a dictator even after calling Mr. Zelensky that.
“You want me to say really terrible things about Putin and then say, ‘Hi, Vladimir, how are we doing on the deal?’” Mr. Trump told Mr. Zelensky on Friday. “It doesn’t work that way.”
… “You see the hatred he’s got for Putin,” Mr. Trump said with a tone of indignation as cameras recorded the exchange. “It’s very tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate. He’s got tremendous hatred. And I understand that. But I can tell you the other side’s not exactly in love with him either.”
He came back to Mr. Putin and the Russia investigation again near the end of the session, describing the Russian leader as if they had bonded through a shared ordeal.
“Putin went through a hell of a lot with me,” Mr. Trump said. “He went through a phony witch hunt where they used him and Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia.”
The affront to Mr. Putin seemed to stick with Mr. Trump. By evening, hours after tossing Mr. Zelensky out of the White House, Mr. Trump stopped to talk with reporters as he left for a weekend in Florida and again outlined his grievance with the Ukrainian president.
“He’s got to say, ‘I want to make peace,’” Mr. Trump said. “He doesn’t have to stand there and say about, ‘Putin this, Putin that,’ all negative things. He’s got to say, ‘I want to make peace.’”“
