In August 1941, Roosevelt and Churchill established the Atlantic Charter, detailing principles for postwar order based on democracy and self-determination. The charter represented a pinnacle of American diplomacy, emphasizing fairness and mutual respect among nations. In stark contrast, during a recent meeting with President Trump, Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky was pressured into concessions while defending his nation's sovereignty. This encounter was criticized as a low point in U.S. diplomacy, drawing comparisons to appeasement strategies from earlier eras and highlighting concerns about American values and support for global democracy.
Zelensky, Ukraine's embattled democratic leader, came to Washington prepared to sign away anything he could offer President Trump except his nation's freedom, security and common sense.
The charter, and the alliance that came of it, is a high point of American statesmanship. On Friday in the Oval Office, the world witnessed the opposite.
Whatever one might say about how Zelensky played his cards poorly, this was a day of American infamy.
If Roosevelt had told Churchill to sue for peace on any terms with Adolf Hitler, it might have approximated what Trump did to Zelensky.
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