Forum Topic

Trump calls Zelensky a dictator

From BBC rolling news:Trump takes swipe at Zelensky's leadershippublished at 16:0616:06Breaking"Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a country left," US President Donald Trump says in a post on Truth Social.Labelling Zelensky "a dictator", Trump writes: "I love Ukraine, but Zelensky has done a terrible job, his country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died."Trump says in the meantime, the US is "successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia".For context: Zelensky's presidential term expired last May, however Ukraine has been under martial law since the Russian invasion in February 2022, which means presidential elections are suspended.

Ivonne Holliday ● 414d24 Comments

No need to apologise, Yvonne. Ed’s questions are irrelevant. As you say, I was commenting on the newspapers’ general condemnation of Trump’s declaring Zelenskyy a dictator. Nothing to do with the media’s attitudes to war.

Jane Carter ● 413d

Hello Ed,I was replying to Jane Carter's statement:  "To get back to the subject of this thread- every newspaper this morning appears to condemn Trump’s calling Zelensky a dictator. Such a level of agreement must be rare."I wholeheartedly agree with Jane's post.In this regard, I am afraid I do not follow or fully understand the questions in your post.

Ivonne Holliday ● 413d

"I agree, Jane, a very rare thing but delighted they all agree on this."Has there ever been a war in which the government, opposition & media didn't agree?How many of those wars in which they agreed turned out to be mistakes?

Ed Robinson ● 413d

Yeah, they're probably all fed up because Trump's storming around the White House 'cause someone answered back and told him the truth ...

Michael Ixer ● 413d

And now (20.02.25 at 14:48hs), on BBC rolling news:White House national security adviser Mike Waltz says Ukraine needs to "tone down" its criticism of the US and sign a minerals deal being pushed by President TrumpHmmmmmm

Ivonne Holliday ● 413d

Some Republican Senators seem uncomfortable with Trump's comments about Ukraine starting the war, but are unlikely to have the guts to stand up to him:https://www.npr.org/2025/02/19/nx-s1-5302885/ukraine-russia-trump-congressI'm not sure Vance is better, I've seen a suggestion he may be driving Trump's agenda of behaving like a dictator but I'm unclear if that's substantiate. But one perhaps has to put it into the context of the US federal government chaos - cracks are beginning to appear: Bannon, a former Trump advisor, is now called Musk a "parasitic illegal immigrant" ...https://www.huffpost.com/entry/steve-bannon-calls-elon-musk-a-parasitic-illegal-immigrant_n_67b63699e4b050f805a0befb And the farmers aren't going to be pleased with the accidental firing of the avian flu researchers following that of the nuclear specialists:https://www.cbsnews.com/news/usda-accidentally-fired-bird-flu-experts-rehire/And some in the US are beginning to wonder how safe it is to fly after some are fired at the FAA ...

Michael Ixer ● 413d

The European nations have to find a way of persuading the Trump administration that it is in American interests for the security of Europe’s eastern border, not to mention the Atlantic alliance itself, to be maintained. Unfortunately lTrump doesn’t seem to be in listening mode right now. Maybe Starmer’s team could talk to Vance and other members of the administration next week.

Steven Rose ● 414d

Unfortunately he believes the last man he spoke to - Putin. Behind Trump is a chosen group of yes-men but more seriously there are numerous Republicans who agree that the US should stay out of European conflicts and essentially blame NATO for provoking Putin by expanding eastwards. Unfortunately this does not take account of the motivation for former members of the Soviet bloc to seek protection from their former overlords. They know better than anyone you can’t trust Putin or Russian expansionism.

Jonathan Callaway ● 414d

I agree, Jane, a very rare thing but delighted they all agree on this.Also, on the BBC:Trump tells BBC that Russia has 'the cards' in peace negotiationsDonald Trump says he believes Russia has "the cards" in any peace talks to end the war in Ukraine because Russia has "taken a lot of territory".https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgwddmjyvzoHmmmmmmm

Ivonne Holliday ● 414d

To get back to the subject of this thread- every newspaper this morning appears to condemn Trump’s calling Zelensky a dictator. Such a level of agreement must be rare. He seems to have no filter: just declares what comes into his head.

Jane Carter ● 414d

Interesting, Somerset VP Pence has corrected Trump:https://thehill.com/policy/international/5153983-pence-denounces-trumps-claim-ukraine-started-war/

Michael Ixer ● 414d

"I thought that everything was supposed to be fine in the US because they had a Constitution - but it doesn't look like it."That's not a reason for not having one.The advantages outweigh the disadvantages it doesn't guarantee utopia.Freedom of speech is vital for any democracy.

Ed Robinson ● 414d

I thought that everything was supposed to be fine in the US because they had a Constitution - but it doesn't look like it.

Philippa Bond ● 414d

Brexit would have been unlikely if the UK had a proper constitution like most democracies.Referendum would have been held along the way to verify the countries support to the various agreements.Very likely we would be in the EFTA or EEA at least.

Ed Robinson ● 414d

"I imagine it will complicate matters but it is one for international lawyers - unless you are one Michael B.?"Tragically not :(

Michael Brigo ● 414d

"Actually, here's the evidence and it sounds completely reasonable."I imagine it will complicate matters but it is one for international lawyers - unless you are one Michael B.?At the end of the day it is probably only the US that can be a guarantor to any agreement."Use Upcoming Tenth Anniversary of Minsk Accord’s Signing to Renew Diplomatic Efforts towards De-escalation in Ukraine, Assistant Secretary-General Urges Security Council"https://press.un.org/en/2025/sc15996.doc.htm

Ed Robinson ● 414d

And, while we're on the subject of dictators, aFB post from a US contact "Trump’s dictator-like move in the U.S. yesterday: he signed an executive order granting only the attorney general or the president the authority to interpret laws executed by the executive branch."

Michael Ixer ● 414d

Just to add, the negotiations that took place were for PoW exchanges between Russia and Ukraine. Anyway,  is there a "perfect" democracy? Ed criticises the UK, looking at social media there are many saying the War of Independence was because they didn't wasn't a King ... perhaps Switzerland might qualify?

Michael Ixer ● 414d

In practice there have been negotiations, probably through an intermediary; for example, Turkey.  It's not unusual for an intermediary to be used in negotiations. In the Israeli/Hamas conflict my understanding is Qatar acts as an intermediary talking to the two parties but they don't negotiate face-to-face. It would be acceptable for the US to meet Russia and Ukraine separately - but without showing a bias.

Michael Ixer ● 414d

Russia fails on that! I'm not aware of Ukraine filtering the boundaries of their Internet in the same way Russia does to stop it's citizens accessing western news sites - and Ukraine hasn't tested isolating part of its internal network from the global Internet like Russia has. https://meduza.io/en/news/2024/11/15/russia-s-federal-censorship-agency-plans-routine-tests-disconnecting-the-russian-internet-from-the-global-internetThe term "Russian Internet" seems an oxymoron to me - if it's not connected to the global Internet I wouldn't use the term "Internet".

Michael Ixer ● 414d

Actually, here's the evidence and it sounds completely reasonable.Unless you are a conspiracy theorist/Putin apologist of course ;)https://www.yahoo.com/news/zelenskyy-decree-outlawing-talks-putin-155140270.html

Michael Brigo ● 414d

"I believe Zelinsky's passed a law that prohibits anyone negotiating with Russia. Hence the US-Russian talks."Evidence?

Michael Brigo ● 414d

I believe Zelinsky's passed a law that prohibits anyone negotiating with Russia. Hence the US-Russian talks.A Democracy dependent upon several things including opposition, freedom of the press, religion, low corruption  etc.Even before the Russian invasion it had a very poor record.

Ed Robinson ● 414d

Yes, Ivonne, I understand Ukrainian law forbids elections during periods of war. So Zelensky's position is still legally authorative from the last election. Trump obviously has not checked what Putin told him. There seem to be mixed messages from Trump and some of his recently appointed officials who have said Ukraine and Europe will be involved. Starmer's meeting next week will be interesting, if it goes ahead.

Michael Ixer ● 414d