Democrat Senator Chris Murphy (CT) and presumably others encouraged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to reject the prospect of a peace deal without so-called "security guarantees" (a euphemism for American military commitments) just before the now-infamous Oval Office blow-out. 

SEE: Zelensky Attempts Oval Office Grandstanding; Finds Out Trump and Vance Don't Play That Game

As RedState reported, a 40-minute presser between Zelensky and President Donald Trump turned sour after the former, who had been antagonistic and dismissive of U.S. concerns throughout the meeting, interjected to interrogate JD Vance for the cameras. The vice president had mentioned working toward diplomacy, which didn't sit well with the Ukrainian president, and in a move that struck the administration as disrespectful, Zelensky publicly denounced any possibility of a ceasefire that would pause the war with Russia. A later tweetstorm from the Ukrainian president only appeared to fray relations further. 

SEE: Zelensky Goes on a Tweet Storm, and It's Likely Going to Make Things Much Worse

One of the big questions was how we even arrived at that point. What caused Zelensky to walk into the White House with the sense that he could bully Trump in front of the press and scoff at any diplomatic negotiations? A post made by Murphy gives the game away. 

Just finished a meeting with President Zelensky here in Washington. He confirmed that the Ukrainian people will not support a fake peace agreement where Putin gets everything he wants and there are no security arrangements for Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/eaCePJ4UZr

— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) February 28, 2025

Less than an hour before entering the Oval Office, Zelensky met with several lawmakers, including Murphy and other Democrats. Based on the wording of the above post, the senator (or someone else at the table) pressed the Ukrainian president to reject a "fake peace agreement," which is a clear shot at Trump's attempts at diplomacy. At the very least, these Democrats encouraged Zelensky to remain defiant in that position, and we all know what happened next. 

Attending that meeting and glad-handing with left-wing partisans who do not want peace because it would make them look bad was a colossal mistake by Zelensky. He needed to go into the Oval Office with a reconciliatory attitude. No one was asking him to sign a peace deal with Russia on the spot. All Trump wants to do is hold talks. Ukrainian leaders would still hold the right to reject ceasefire terms if they saw fit. 

That's what makes this entire thing so mind-numbing. There was no reason for Zelensky to do what he did. Trump was ready to give the bag away on a very Ukraine-friendly mineral rights deal. To blow that up served no purpose whatsoever. Details of any possible ceasefire could be hashed out much later and not in a way meant to embarrass the president and vice president.

Zelensky needs to understand that these Democrats have no power. The Biden administration is gone, and Republicans control both the Senate and the House. Chris Murphy isn't going to be writing Ukraine a check. All he and his cohorts can do is virtue-signal, and that's not winning any battles against Russia. If things are going to be patched up with the Trump White House, Zelensky has to accept that reality and stop believing that he can bully his way to American military commitments by appealing to the press and Democrats.

Trump will only recoil further at that, and he is never going to set up any "security guarantees" that result in U.S. troops fighting Russia. There's still a path for Zelensky to get much-needed aid for his country, but he has to stop operating like it's still 2022, and the first step in that is to stop listening to Democrats who can not help him.