After the recent Oval Office flare up, it is obvious that Zelensky still believes that his allies in entertainment/media, the Democrat party, and the EU will come to his rescue and derail the Trump train. Maybe it was all those fawning celebrities making their (paid) pilgrimages to Kyiv that inflated Zelensky’s perception of himself. (Recall that many of those appearances were sponsored by our tax dollars, courtesy of USAID.) Maybe it was a Brussels politician whispering in his ear that he does not need to pay attention to Trump because the EU has his back. Whatever is propelling his outward demeanor and rhetoric has led him astray this time around with Trump. Babbling on about Trump being under the influence of the Kremlin is about the worst thing that Zelensky could have said. He is forgetting that this is the president who has weathered partisan accusations of Russian collusion since the start of his first term and is in no mood to listen to such nonsense.

Trump has publicly stated that Zelensky is bluffing his way through a high-stakes card game and he’s right. The lyrics from Kenny Rogers song the Gambler sticks in my head.

You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em,

Know when to fold ‘em,

Know when to walk away,

And know when to run

At this point, it’s time for Zelensky to run and take the first flight out.

Even the most brain-dead Democrat knows that Trump is not going to write a blank check to Kyiv to continue the war as his predecessor did for three years. Continued American support will be predicated on Kyiv’s cooperation in reaching a settlement with the Russians. That means ceding the territory that Russia currently holds and settling for a future security arrangement that does not include Ukraine’s membership in NATO. It’s Realpolitik 101 and Zelensky is getting a crash course in it.

Unable to take advantage of Trump as he did with the former senile inhabitant of the White House, Zelensky has fled to the loving arms of his European admirers. The Europeans love donning sackcloth and ashes and repenting for their past sins. How else does one explain the adulation heaped upon Greta Thunberg by EU delegates as she scolded them for their sin of emitting CO2?  Zelensky is hitting the same chord as Greta with European politicians. I don't blame Zelensky for doing it. He is a politician, but he must be kicking himself for believing that the Americans this time around would be as susceptible to his form of emotional blackmail.

Image: YouTube video screen grab.