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

But besides watching an entitled brat of a world leader get raked over the coals by the guy from The Apprentice and a hillbilly millennial, Zelensky's strategy was a head scratcher. Perhaps he was so used to American politicians who were willing to lay themselves down into puddles, so Zelensky wasn't ready to talk to two dudes who don't feel the need to perform for the media, which Vance seemed hyper-aware of, and pointed that out to Zelensky. 

Perhaps he thought America owed him one, and thus his smug attitude, but as Bonchie noted in his article, this wasn't wise: 

Trump has never accepted the idea that Ukraine is doing the United States a favor by fighting Russia as a way of justifying unlimited aid. Perhaps Joe Biden found that argument persuasive, but Joe Biden is not in office anymore. Russia is not going to invade the United States or any NATO country (if for no other reason than a lack of capability), and using that as a type of blackmail for support was never going to play. 

And herein we find the trump card that Trump had on Zelensky... you know, besides the money the world's most successful beggar came to get.

Trump's negotiation strategy vastly differs from many other American leaders, especially those on the Democrat side of the aisle. Despite Trump's reputation as a rough-around-the-edges man whose political charm is far divorced from what people expect after watching The West Wing too much, he is a master negotiator. 

Even when it comes to our enemies, Trump is not going to negotiate from a position of bad faith. He sees everything as a businessman would. There are no friends or foes while at the table, just good deals and bad deals. 

I thought The Federalist CEO Sean Davis put this very well in a post he made on X: 

Trump doesn’t bad mouth anyone who comes to the negotiating table in good faith. Ever. It’s a near-cardinal rule of negotiations for him, and a major reason he’s been such a successful dealmaker. 

If you refuse to negotiate, he will trash you. If you lie or negotiate in bad faith, he will trash you. He has zero interest in allowing empty moralizing to get in the way of a deal that he wants.  

He has done this his entire career, in business and in politics, and it’s fascinating to me how many people who think of themselves as smart and savvy are incapable of seeing or understanding this dynamic.

The key here isn't just that Trump is holding the cards and that Zelensky needs him — not the other way around — it's that Trump is negotiating from a fortified position of "America first." Everything at the table is subject to that one point, and if anything drifts away from that, then Trump pushes back and pushes back until he's all the way gone from the table. 

Zelensky acted like a petulant child who showed no respect to the country that had given him the money for his war while trying to secure more, and Trump saw no value, not in the war, and not in Zelensky's disrespect. As such, there was no deal. Moreover, Zelensky attempted to pressure Trump into capitulation through our own media, which was a costly mistake. Trump is not beholden to the American media as other leaders are. 

But Zelensky's error came from a habit he never should have never been allowed to develop. The Democrats — and too many Republicans — taught Zelensky that he was in charge. They caved to him constantly because the last thing they wanted was for our own media, who fawn and worship the ground Zelensky walks on, to turn on them. That would result in massive blowback from Democrat supporters, including their donors. 

Zelensky was taught that all he had to do to get paid was smile for the cameras and get glad-handed by politicians and celebrities, all of whom wanted to be seen backing the guy fighting the "good fight." Democrats had just as much to gain out of kissing Zelensky's backside as Zelensky had, bending over to receive their lips. 

Again, this should have never been an expectation of Zelensky's, but Democrats don't know how to negotiate like they should. Unlike Trump, who negotiates from a fixed position with a clear goal in mind, Democrats attempt to take the "diplomatic" route of trying to meet the person they're negotiating with halfway. It sounds nice on paper, but on the world stage it's foolishly weak. It makes them too pliable, and too often Democrats get taken for a ride. 

The Paris Accords, the Iran Deal, and even the would-be Kyoto protocol under Clinton are good examples of the U.S. negotiating from a "nice guy" position. 

That is, until it becomes trendy or politically inconvenient to be a nice guy, then suddenly the Democrats are ready to say whatever they need to, even to their own detriment at the negotiation table. 

Ultimately, the Democrat at the negotiating table asks, "what's expedient for me politically right now?" When the question that they should be asking themselves — and Trump clearly understands — is "how does this put America and Americans in the best position possible?" 

The answer is sometimes not to make a deal at all. It's not sexy to come back and say negotiations fell apart, especially to a bloodthirsty media who makes everything sound like every failed deal moves us closer to doomsday, but again, Trump isn't concerned with the media, he's concerned with America. 

And Democrats just can't seem to wrap their heads around that.