I am just curious how many of you guys that hold Trump guilty have actually read the transcript of the call.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-conten...ied09.2019.pdf
I admittedly had not until today, and it struck me that the Ukrainian President sounded on the same page throughout the conversation. Not exactly what I expected, or would expect, from some one who was acting under a form of compulsion. Specifically, he mirrored words and ideas Trump has used in his election. Clearly that serves as flattery which we know Trump responds to. Some examples:
Quote:
President Zelenskyy: You· are absolutely right Mr.
Presideht.• We did win big and we worked hard for this. We worked
a lot but I would like to confess to you that I had an
opportunity to learn from you. We used quite a few of your
skills and knowledge and were able to use it as an example to
our elections -and.yes it is-true that these were unique
elections. We were in a·unique situation· that we· were able to achieve a unique success. I'm able to tell you the following;
the first time,\ you· called me to · congratulate .
me .when I won my presidential election, and the second time you are now calling me when my party won the parliamentary election. I think I
should run more often so you can call me more often and we can talk over the phone more often.
The President: [laughter] That's a very good idea. I ·
think your country is very happy about that.
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Zelenskvy went on to compare the old Ukraine govt to a swamp.
Quote:
President Zelenskyy: Well yes, to tell you the truth, we are trying to work hard because we wanted to drain the swamp here in our country. We brought in many many new people. Not the old politicians, not the typical politicians, because we want to have a new format and a new type of government .. You are a great teacher for us and in that.
The President: Well it's·very nice of you to say that. I will say that we do a lot for Ukraine. We spend a lot of effort and a lot.of time. Much more than the European countries are doing and they should be helping you more than.they are.
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and
Quote:
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President Zelenskyy: Yes you are·absolutely right. not only 100%, but actually 1000% arid I can tell you the following; I did talk to Angela Merkel and I did meet.with her. I also met and talked with Macron and I told them that they are not doing quite as much as they need to be doing·on the issues with the sanctions. They are not enforcing the sanctions. They are not working as much as they should work for Ukraine. It turns out that even though logically, the European Union should be our biggest· partner but technically the United States is a much bigger partner than.the European Union and I'm very grateful to you for that because the United States is doing quite a lot for Ukraine.
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There is a lot more, but again what struck me was the back and forth flow, often with Zelensvky taking the lead, and Trump encouraging the discussion.
I just thought the transcript would be far more damning then it was when I read through it, and yes I realize I have a confirmation bias towards supporting Trump.