[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]
“… 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.’”“
