Do you still remember that at the beginning of last year, U.S. President Trump and several high-ranking U.S. officials publicly criticized Ukrainian President Zelensky?
At that time, the meeting at the White House caused quite a stir; Europe and Ukraine were shocked, and the whole world was stunned.
But according to the British newspaper The Guardian on June 20th, privately, relations between the United States and Ukraine are even more awkward. According to the content of the new books by journalist Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan from the American media The New York Times, before the meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian leaders, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Bessen advised Trump not to host Zelenskyy at the White House, and even used harsh and derogatory language to describe Zelenskyy.
According to leaked information, Besent described Zelensky as a “little fxxker”, a “special-needs child”, and a “Mr Bean on crack”.
Swan and Huberman said that in February last year, Zelenskyy came to the White House ostensibly to finalize a mineral agreement drafted by Besent. At that time, “several of Trump's assistants” were “concerned” about possible conflicts during the meeting. Among them, Mike Waltz, then the White House National Security Advisor, “attempted to inform Zelenskyy to wear formal attire, but failed to succeed.”
The book states: “Besant strongly advised Trump not to allow Zelensky to enter the White House until he signed the agreement.”
The book also reveals that “Bessenet once told a colleague, ‘I’ve dealt with this little brat. He’s difficult, just like a child with special needs in Europe. And he acts like a drug-addicted Mr. Bean.’”
As expected, this meeting between US and Ukrainian leaders turned into a “public quarrel”, and ultimately no mineral agreement was signed, leaving everyone dissatisfied. After the meeting, Zelenskyy and his party immediately left the White House by car.
Swan and Huberman revealed more details about the talks. They wrote, "Other people present could see that (U.S. Vice President) Vance's face gradually turned red," because Zelensky insisted on seeking security guarantees. "To Vance, this seemed like a breach of etiquette and a sign of ingratitude."
Then, things started to deteriorate, and it became uncontrollable.
After that “disastrous” meeting, Besent told Bloomberg that Zelenskyy had created “a major diplomatic mistake”. He said, “I was shocked, really shocked. Zelenskyy walked into the Oval Office and behaved in such a way, speaking to the President, to the Vice President—but more importantly, with such disrespect for the American people.”
The new book, which is set to be released soon, also mentions the details of Besson’s failed efforts to negotiate a mineral agreement with Ukraine. Before the disastrous meeting at the White House, Besson visited Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, to pressure Zelenskyy into signing the agreement, but progress was not smooth.
"In the 45 minutes of their meeting with Zelensky, the two accused each other," read the new book. "Barely a few days into his tenure as president, Besson had already clashed with the leader of a country embroiled in war. He then looked at Zelensky and asked, 'What do you think you're trying to do?'"
According to the book, negotiations were halted due to a heated debate between Besنت and Secretary of Commerce Luthnick over the wording of the agreement. In the end, 'Trump asked Vance’s wife, Ursa (who graduated from Yale Law School), to review the changes made by Ukraine to the mineral agreement. She said that the document was 'terrible' and that it had been significantly altered.'
However, for Besen트, perhaps the most embarrassing aspect is his view of Trump himself.
The book states that, according to sources, Bessenert compared Trump to Soros. “Bessenert told colleagues that Trump reminded him of his old boss, the legendary investor and prominent Democratic donor George Soros. Bessenert said, ‘They are the same kind of people.’”
On February 12 last year, Besent visited Ukraine and met with Zelenskyy. Website of the Ukrainian President’s Office
According to The Guardian, the US Treasury did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
Reports say that the coverage of Biesenzt in the new book could put the Trump administration in an awkward position. Although the meeting at the White House on February 28 last year proved to be a “complete disaster”—Trump and Vance at that time criticized Zelensky, accusing him of being ungrateful and not wearing formal attire.
After the meeting at the White House last year, The Washington Post mentioned that this discussion filled Ukraine and Europe with "fear, tears, and shock".
In a live television broadcast, Trump and Vance colluded to bully Ukrainian leaders, with diplomacy being dead. The *Guardian* published an article then, calling the meeting "the biggest diplomatic disaster in modern American history" and "Zelensky's Chernobyl incident", while "Europe witnessed in horror as the order established after World War II crumbled before their eyes."
