Donald Trump
Trump wants revenge on Zelensky

Wolfgang Hansson

This is a commentary text. Analysis and positions are those of the writer.

Updated 10.54 | Published 10.42

Quick version

• Donald Trump is demanding that Ukraine hold elections in order to participate in peace negotiations, despite large parts of the country being occupied by Russia.
• Ukraine sees Trump's demands as an attempt to replace President Zelensky with a more compliant leader, and it risks deteriorating relations between the two countries.
• There is speculation that Trump's demands are partly a personal vendetta against Zelensky after previous conflicts, including Trump's pressure regarding investigations into the Biden family

BERLIN. Trump's demand that Ukraine hold elections in order to get a seat at the negotiating table is laughable.

Has the American president completely forgotten that it is Russia that attacked Ukraine and not the other way around?

Rather, it is about Trump wanting to take revenge on President Zelensky and replace him with someone who is willing to make greater concessions.

Now the American president is out for revenge here and there, and Zelensky is getting a kick out of it. Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP

It seems that Donald Trump, after his phone call with Putin and the first initial negotiations between the United States and Russia, has completely bought into the Russian worldview.

In a week, one of Ukraine's main allies has turned into a hostile player. Instead of being a guarantor of Ukraine's future existence, the United States is now a threat to it.

The Kremlin believes that Zelensky lacks legitimacy as president, since elections were supposed to be held in Ukraine in May last year.

The reason no elections were held is that Russia invaded Ukraine completely unprovoked three years ago and has since occupied 20 percent of the country's territory.

How is Ukraine supposed to hold elections when such a large part of their country is occupied by a hostile power?

We are used to the fact that anything can come out of Trump's mouth, but it is still shocking that the American president makes such a demand of Ukraine in order to be allowed to participate in determining their own fate at the peace negotiation table.

Trump could instead demand that Russia end its war and withdraw its troops. Then Ukraine can hold elections.

He should also demand that Russia hold democratic elections. Putin is a much more illegitimate president than Zelensky. Not a single election since Putin first took office in 2000 has been democratic. The Kremlin has banned dangerous opponents from running. According to experts, the most recent elections have also been marked by widespread electoral fraud.

Rather than the question of Zelensky's legitimacy, there are other reasons behind Trump's call.

In July 2019, Trump urged the Ukrainian president to launch an investigation into the Biden family. Hunter Biden sat on the board of a Ukrainian oil company. The goal was to uncover compromising facts that Trump could use against Biden in the 2020 election.

To put pressure on his demand, he threatened to withdraw US aid to Ukraine that had already been decided by Congress.

Zelensky did not want to anger Trump, but at the same time said that there was no evidence or legal basis for launching such an investigation.

The result was that Trump was eventually impeached for the threats he made against Zelensky in their phone call.

Ever since then, Trump has had a thorn in Zelensky's side. Now the American president is out for revenge here and there, and Zelensky is getting a kick out of it.

There may also be another reason for Trump's sudden interest in elections in Ukraine.

After the initial talks yesterday in Saudi Arabia, it is clear that it will be very difficult to get Russia to make concessions. Therefore, it will also be difficult to secure peace. Especially if, like Trump, you want to quickly show success. Perhaps it would be easier if you replace Zelenskyj with a more compliant president who is prepared to make greater concessions.

Then Trump's chances of being able to put peace in Ukraine on his CV increase.

On the other hand, it takes time to hold elections, certainly at least six months. In the meantime, negotiations would be at a standstill. So Trump is talking a bit against himself.

At the press conference, Trump claimed that Ukraine had over three years to negotiate. They should have made a deal even before the war broke out, Trump believes, and seemed to blame Ukraine for the war.

– They should never have started the war, he said.

He also claimed that Zelensky only has the support of four percent of the population. A figure completely plucked out of thin air or taken directly from Putin's script.

Once again, Trump Once again, Trump seems to completely ignore what is right and wrong, in international law. Ukraine is a sovereign country. Does Trump mean that Zelensky would have bowed to the Russian threat and said go ahead, come and take Kiev?