PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — In their Oval Office meeting on Friday with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, despite a cordial beginning, performed a televised takedown of the Ukrainian president. It was one of the most unusual moments ever inside the White House, and it is not a fun thing to watch, but it merits your attention.
Zelenskyy was there to sign a deal that would have given the Trump administration rights to drill for valuable minerals inside Ukraine, in exchange for continued U.S. support and Russian ceasefire. How strong the support, how lasting the ceasefire, no one could say.
The current occupants of the White House are so enamored of the Rutin regime, Trump even suggested Russia didn't start the war. So, Zelenskyy asked what would happen if Putin were to break his word — and all courtesy was abandoned. Vance launched into an attack against the Ukrainian president. Zelenskyy looked stunned. Trump, his face a shade of red we've never seen, launched his own attack. The men accused Zelensky of being disrespectful, said he didn’t show enough gratitude for American support. And Zelenskyy pushed back vigorously until Trump shut him down.
Later, after leaving the White House, Zelenskyy thanked the people of the U.S. for supporting his nation's war, and Trump accused Zelenskyy of not being ready for peace. The bottom line: The episode was embarrassing, with other leaders of the free world chiming in with unanimous support for Ukraine. On Saturday, the British prime minister met with Zelenskyy.
Of course, the reaction in the U.S. to this was predictable. Trump supporters like it. The opposition doesn't.
I would recommend you watch or listen to this entire episode. Local Republican leaders, who remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from Trump, are concerned, but the White House still defends it all.
More locally, there was another drama with a surprise ending: Businessman George Norcross, probably the most powerful unelected individual in South Jersey, got some big news. A New Jersey judge threw out corruption charges against Norcross in a case filed by the state's Attorney General Matt Platkin.
My sources say the charges were more about Norcross’ impulse to preserve his power and influence, which can't be interpreted as intimidating.
Platkin defends the case and says it's not over, but how that plays out is questionable.