Trump and Vance tried to humiliate Zelensky in a despicable Oval Office showdown. There’s a particular kind of malevolence that comes with holding the fate of an entire nation in your hands and yet choosing to tighten your grip, relishing in their suffering.

This was the grim reality faced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his meeting with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office on Friday. What was intended to be a diplomatic agreement, one that would grant the U.S. access to Ukrainian minerals in exchange for continued aid, quickly spiraled into one of the most humiliating episodes in American diplomatic history.

It’s undeniable that Ukraine’s survival against Russia depends largely on American support. Everyone—Trump, Vance, and Zelensky—knows that without the U.S., Ukraine’s chances of staving off Russian forces would be slim to none. In light of this asymmetric relationship, the U.S. leadership decided that the appropriate approach was to publicly berate and belittle the war-weary Ukrainian leader.

Watching the exchange unfold was painful. Trump and Vance repeatedly scolded Zelensky, demanding he show more gratitude, asserting that he was in no position to dictate terms.

Vance’s insults included, “Have you said thank you once?”, “Just say thank you,” and “We know you’re wrong.” Trump’s remarks were equally degrading: “You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel,” “Your country is in big trouble,” “You’re not winning this,” and “You have to be thankful. You don’t have the cards, you’re buried there.”

As Ukraine enters its third year of a brutal war, with thousands dead and millions displaced, the U.S. leadership decided it was the perfect time to withhold crucial aid and hold the country hostage in exchange for access to its resources. Zelensky, with no other viable option to save his people, reluctantly agreed to the terms of the deal.

After weeks of hearing Trump parrot Putin’s falsehoods, hinting that America might abandon Ukraine and undermining his legitimacy, Zelensky arrived in the Oval Office only to be told that diplomacy with Russia was the key to ending the war.

What triggered the verbal onslaught from Trump and Vance was Zelensky’s reluctance to accept this approach, especially given Russia’s long track record of disregarding international agreements.

Zelensky’s doubts about diplomacy are more than reasonable, considering Russia’s repeated violations of various treaties and agreements, from the invasion of Crimea to the breach of the Budapest Memorandum and countless broken ceasefires.

Russia’s history demonstrates a pattern of signing agreements and then violating them once it suits its interests. Given this, Zelenskyy’s skepticism of the effectiveness of diplomacy with Putin is entirely rational.

But instead of recognizing Zelensky’s understandable concerns, Trump and Vance treated him as if his country’s dire situation rendered him a subservient figure, one that should not question the authority of the U.S. leadership. They made it clear that Ukraine, in its desperate plight, must bow to their demands without protest.

While Ukraine has benefited from U.S. intervention, Russia has been severely weakened, its military exposed as inadequate to carry out its objectives. The revelation that Russia has had to enlist soldiers from North Korea to continue its offensive speaks volumes about its dire situation.

Yet, even in the face of this international shift, Trump and Vance seized the opportunity to exploit Ukraine’s vulnerabilities. It didn’t matter that Zelensky was desperately trying to protect his people from a ruthless dictator—Trump and Vance pounced, using this power imbalance to demand even more, and publicly humiliated him in front of the world. You could see the struggle in Zelensky’s face as he fought to maintain his composure amid such disrespect.

Both Trump and Vance understand that pride is a luxury that Ukraine cannot afford if it wishes to survive. They made it abundantly clear that for Ukraine to continue receiving U.S. assistance, it would have to submit, remain silent, and never stop acknowledging America’s supposed role as the savior. It takes a special kind of cruelty to force a country, already broken by war, into a humiliating dilemma: abandon your dignity or face destruction.

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