Lawrence Freedman
‘This is going to make great television.’ Trump’s assessment of the bad-tempered encounter with Ukraine’s President Zelensky in the Oval Office, was a telling remark after what appeared to be a setback for his efforts to mastermind a peace deal to end the Russo-Ukraine War. In front of the cameras Zelensky offered Trump insufficient respect and gratitude and for that he was shown the White House door, with a prepared deal on raw materials left unsigned and a scheduled press conference abandoned.
What happens next depends on whether it suits Trump to restore relations with Zelensky, or whether he has been cast out never to return. If Trump really craves a deal and an end to the bloodshed then Zelensky will be back. Much depends on the degree of dramatic tension that best suits his purposes.
The Trump administration is a soap opera. The president is the producer and the star, responsible for the plot lines, the script, and the cast (all of whom are chosen to look the part). If a plot line works, such as a drive for a Nobel-Prize winning peace deal, then it will be developed and might run for many episodes. Otherwise it will be quietly dropped, or may just peter out. The purpose of every episode is to demonstrate the star’s brilliance. The reason why this story has yet to run its course is the main theme of the Trump soap opera: that the star is especially brilliant when it comes to making deals.
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