European leaders’ strategy of incessantly flattering Donald Trump seemed to pay off on Monday when they caught the US president in a good mood as they swarmed President Zelenskyy at his White House summit. But the question remains - what would have happened if they weren’t there?
The leaders had rushed to Washington to prevent another Oval Office ambush of the Ukrainian president. Their flattery bought them warm words from Trump and a suggestion from him that the US could participate in security guarantees for Ukraine after the war. The leaders know there is almost no prospect of Putin accepting Trump’s invitation for a trilateral summit with Zelenskyy. But they are hoping that when he refuses, it will turn Trump against the Russian president.
Dave Keating from Gulf Stream Blues and Luke Johnson from Public Sphere discuss the implications and what’s next.
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