Trump Is Cross-Examined by World Leaders and He Folds

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1:20Ben Meiselas:Donald Trump got cross-examined by pissed-off world leaders who were stunned by Donald Trump's message on Friday that he would be meeting this Friday with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, which is nothing short of a massive victory for Putin. And these world leaders, our allies, mostly from Europe, said, get the hell on the phone right now. Send J.D. Vance to Chevening in Kent in the United Kingdom. We're bringing him here. send some of the top people from Ukraine. We're going to sort this out. What the hell did you tell Vladimir Putin was going to go down in Alaska? Did you tell him that Ukraine was going to give up 25 % of the Zepresia and Donetsk's region?

2:11Ben Meiselas:Did you tell Putin that? Because Putin's out there telling a bunch of our enemies that that's what he was promised. Now he's going to Alaska and also bragging, by the way, that according to Putin's version of history, Alaska still belongs to him. And he's laughing at you, Donald. He's laughing at J.D. Vince. He's laughing at the United States. So what the hell did Steve Witkoff, your envoy to Russia, what did he say to Putin and what did Putin say to him? Witkoff is out there claiming that Putin was going to swap some land in Kedershon and give some land back to Ukraine. Putin's not saying that.

2:51Ben Meiselas:So what the hell happened? So what went down in Chievening in Kent, in the United Kingdom, this beautiful manner, was all the world leaders got on a call. I mean, all of our, I guess, America's former allies based on the way Donald Trump treats Europe, they all went on the phone. They said, get Whitcoff on the phone. Get your envoy to Russia on the phone. And Whitcoff at first started to lie. And Witkof was like, no, no, no. Putin assured me that he would be giving some territory over to Zelensky. If Zelensky gave some territory, this would be a territory swap. Remember how Donald Trump on Friday talked about swapping territory?

3:33Ben Meiselas:And then, you know, it was French President Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz of Germany, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and others said, no, what did you really say to Putin? And what did Putin say to you, Witkoff? And then Witkoff's like, I don't know. I don't really, that's what I believe we said. So they said, get Witkoff on the phone again. We're not okay with this, Witkoff. What the hell went down? And then finally, Witkoff has to sheepishly admit, well, maybe I got the translation wrong. That's what Witkoff says, kind of blaming it on the translator. Maybe I got the translation wrong. It's actually quite possible that all Putin said was that he wanted 25 % of Donetsk, 25%, basically hand over Zepresia, hand over all of this territory to Putin.

4:30Ben Meiselas:and then Putin may consider a ceasefire. So that's why Putin's going to Alaska. Putin's precondition to going to Alaska to meet with Donald Trump was that Trump and Whitcoff had to endorse the following terms, the following stipulation. One, Ukraine and Europe could not be at this meeting. Two, Donald Trump and Whitcoff had to go into this meeting agreeing that Ukraine would give up major portions of land that belongs to Ukraine that has not even been taken over by Russia. Heavily fortified land, key defensive Ukrainian positions just turn that over to Russia. First of all, it's against the Ukrainian constitution to do that.

5:17Ben Meiselas:It would also be the biggest infringement on Ukrainian sovereignty ever. And it basically amounts to a surrender by Ukraine. And so our European allies, I guess you can say former based on the way Donald Trump treated them, they went on and they said, that's not the way it's going to work, Donald. We're all going to be there. OK, maybe if we're not in the room, you will not make any deal at all without Europe signing off on it, without Ukraine signing off on it. We're not being cut out. this impacts our territory because the moment Putin takes over Ukraine, he's coming for us next. So what the hell are you going to do about it, Donald?

5:58Ben Meiselas:What the hell are you going to do about it? So J.D. Vance at this Chevening conference, you can see right here, David Lammy is like the foreign minister of the United Kingdom, posted the following from Saturday. Today, I hosted a meeting with Andrei Yermak, Office of the President of Ukraine, Rustem Umarov, National Security Council of Ukraine, J.D. Vance, and European National Security Advisors at Cheven, that's in Kent, beautiful manner, to discuss the next steps for peace in Ukraine. The UK's support for Ukraine remains ireclad as we continue to work towards a just and lasting peace. So you have that taking place right there.

6:37Ben Meiselas:Andrei Yermak writes, this morning, together with Rustam Yumerev, again, these are the top Ukrainian officials, we met on Downing Street with UK Prime Minister's National Security Advisor, Jonathan Powell. We summed up the results of yesterday's multilateral meeting that's with David Lamme, Multilateral Meeting of Advisors, and outlined the next steps. Ahead lies an important week of diplomacy. I am sincerely grateful to my personal friend and a true supporter of Ukraine, Jonathan Powell, to Foreign Secretary of UK, David Lamme, and to their teams for the exceptionally effective organization of the visit.

7:16Ben Meiselas:I also thank Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the people of the United Kingdom for their unwavering support for our country. We are heading home. Can I translate diplomatic speak for you when they say exceptionally effective organization of the visit? That means everybody in Europe joined forces, teamed up, all of the leaders, whether it It was Macron, Starmer, Merz. And they said, they cornered J.D. and said, what the hell are you doing? Do you realize how stupid this is, J.D.? You realize how dumb you and Donald Trump are being? That's the diplomatic translation right there. And let me now show you what French President Emmanuel Macron had to say.

7:59Ben Meiselas:And I'll translate this diplomatic speak for you as well. Macron goes, I have just spoken with President Zelensky, as well as with Chancellor Merz of Germany and Prime Minister Starmer, UK Prime Minister. We remain determined to support Ukraine, working in a spirit of unity and building on the work undertaken within the framework of the coalition of the willing. Coalition of the willing refers to all of our former allies, just not the United States, because the United States is the unwilling. Ukraine's future cannot be decided without the Ukrainians who have been fighting for their freedom and security for over three years now.

8:35Ben Meiselas:Europeans will also necessarily be a part of the solution as their own security is at stake. I will continue to coordinate closely with President Zelensky and our European partners. So then Germany's chancellor, their main leader, Merz, Frederick Merz, goes, I will call Trump today. We are preparing on a European level for this meeting in Alaska together with the U.S. government so that President Zelensky is included. In any case, we cannot accept that in matters of territorial questions, talks conducted, or even decisions made between the USA and Russia without a European or Ukrainian participation.

9:17Ben Meiselas:I assume that the U.S. government shares this view. This is why we have these discussions. We cannot accept that the entire European security architecture is threatened by Russia. That is why there cannot be peace if Russia would be rewarded for aggression, which potentially encourages even more. Here is Friedrich Merz himself, the German chancellor. Watch him say it in his own words. Here, play this clip. I will have another phone call with President Trump today. We are preparing intensively at the European level together with the American government for this meeting and we hope and assume that the government of Ukraine, that President Zelensky will be involved in this meeting.

10:08In any case, we cannot accept that territorial issues between Russia and America are discussed or even decided over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians. I assume that the American government sees it the same way. That is why there is this close coordination. We cannot accept that the entire European security is further threatened by Russia, and therefore there can be no peace that rewards Russian aggressive actions and possibly encourages and emboldens further actions. That is the message we have jointly expressed here, and I am really grateful that we are in a very, very close dialogue with the Americans.

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12:26Ben Meiselas:As Igor Sushko writes, this would be funny if it wasn't so sad. Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, now claims he misunderstood Putin when Putin demanded Ukraine withdraw from its own Kershom and Zaprishya regions. Whitcoff thought Putin meant Russia would withdraw its forces from those regions. Seriously? Then you have the NATO ambassador, Matthew Whitaker, on Ukraine's territorial concessions. And I want you to listen to what he says here. He goes, no big chunks or sections are going to just be given that haven't been fought for or earned in the battlefield. As Michael McFaul writes, earned.

13:11Ben Meiselas:Since when do U.S. diplomats describe imperial invasion and occupation as earned? Who describes it this way? Shocking this Trump regime. Shocking. Here, play this clip right here. Certainly, I think, you know, I took Zelensky's comments at face value, which is that no big chunks or, you know, sections are going to be just given that haven't been fought for or earned on the battlefield. You know, but I come back to where I started, which is, you know, we need this war to end. We could save thousands of lives with a deal. And I think that by both sides, communicating by President Trump meeting in Alaska on Friday with either one or both of the combatants.

13:57I think this is exciting. And I think President Trump's really the only one that could make this happen. You know, he's the sole reason that I think this meeting is happening on Friday. He's a peacemaker. You know, he's averaging about a peace deal a month right now. We saw just this week where Armenia and Azerbaijan came together to settle their decades-long conflict. It's, you know, it's been a series of peace deals. And so, you know, I think President Trump is best situated to see if a deal can be had and if both sides can agree to ending the slaughter.

14:32Ben Meiselas:Now, here is NATO Secretary General Mark Rutt. Here's what he has to say. He goes, we need Ukraine at the table. Ukraine decides its own future. Here, play this clip. As I understand it, the European leaders are in agreement that there needs to be a ceasefire first before anything else, that if Ukraine pulls out of any territory, Russia needs to pull out of territory as well, and that if there is an agreement here, Ukraine must have security guarantees, including the possibility of some time acceding to NATO membership. Do you believe that Donald Trump is on board with all of that? Well, I believe European leaders and Ukraine brought out a good statement last night after successful talks with Vice President Vance in London.

15:26It's important that the U.S. is engaging with European allies and with Ukraine to prepare for the meeting on Friday. And of course, when it comes to full-scale negotiations, and let's hope that Friday will be an important step in that process. We need Ukraine at the table. It will be about territory. It will be, of course, about security guarantees, but also about the absolute need to acknowledge that Ukraine decides on its own future, that Ukraine has to be a sovereign nation, deciding on its own geopolitical future. Of course, having no limitations to its own military troop levels and for NATO to have no limitations on our presence on the eastern flank in countries like Latvia, Estonia and Finland.

16:11Ben Meiselas:And I think that Sergei Sumlian describes the symbolism of Putin for Alaska. Well, here's how Sergei says, as a person who was born and socialized in Russia, I tell you what Putin and Russia think about having a Putin-Trump meeting in Alaska. It means Putin goes to Russia. Let me explain why. First, you need to know that the Alaska myth is essential for Russia. In my school in a town close to Moscow, I was taught in geography class in the 1990s that Russia never sold Alaska to the U.S., but leased it for 100 years. That the U.S. have later forged the contract and broken the original one. That Alaska has always been Russian.

16:58Ben Meiselas:So, yes, this whole negotiating framework is symbolically and literally fruitful for Putin. One can hardly imagine a better setting for Russia. Putin will enjoy humiliating Trump and the U.S. Oh, yes, he will enjoy each moment of this triumph. And you will not even notice how you will be getting humiliated, Donald. But Europe recognizes it. That's why they cross-examined on Whitcoff at Chevening. The hell are you guys doing? And then Whitcoff gets smoked out and Whitcoff goes, Oh, actually, yeah, man, I guess Putin wanted all the territory that is under control of Ukraine. Oopsies, oopsies. Whitcoff has no diplomatic experience.

17:43Ben Meiselas:Whitcoff has no foreign policy experience. Whitcoff is just one of Donald Trump's like buddies from back in the day. He was like a real estate guy who has no clue what the hell he's doing. And he should not be representing the United States. No one in the Trump regime should. It's so utterly embarrassing, but that's the cross-exam. So now the setup is Europe and Ukraine saying, you could have this meeting, but we're gonna be involved one way or another. And that's what that cross-exam smoked out. Tell me what you think, hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers. The truth is more important than ever.

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18:48We'll see you next time.

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