Zelensky's best weapon is humor. He needs to wield it.

The most important battlespace for Ukraine is not in Donetsk or Kursk, but on social media and in the airwaves. Zelensky started public life as a comedian. He would be well-served to use those skills.

The week after Trump’s inauguration, things were going well for Ukraine. Trump was saying the right things, or at least was saying things in the direction of saying the right things.

Trump had this to say after the Russians shut down his peace proposal.

President Zelensky was cleverly saying flattering things about Trump.

From CNN:

In his annual New Year address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had “no doubt that the new American president is willing and capable of achieving peace and ending Putin’s aggression,” in comments that embody his approach to winning over Trump.

Just days later, Zelensky told an American podcaster that Trump won as he was a “much stronger” candidate than Kamala Harris, adding, “He showed that he can do it intellectually and physically.”

Zelensky isn’t alone among prominent Ukrainians in trying to butter up Trump. In November, a Ukrainian MP from Zelensky’s party even nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize, according to a letter seen by the Kyiv Independent.

The problem Trump ran into is that Russian exports to America are only about $4 billion, and (appropriately enough) mostly fertilizer. When was the last time you picked up something in your house and saw “Made in Russia” on the bottom?

When Russians told Trump to pound sand, they used a classic negotiating technique. Lavrov delivered the bad news while Putin portrayed himself as wanting to negotiate.

From Al Jazeera:

“We are certainly not satisfied with the proposals made by representatives of the president-elect’s team to postpone Ukraine’s membership in NATO for 20 years and to deploy a peacekeeping contingent of ‘UK and European forces’ in Ukraine,” Lavrov told TASS.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was open to peace talks with Ukraine hosted in Slovakia. Putin hosted Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico in the Kremlin this week. Fico has been sceptical of the European Union’s military support for Ukraine.

Trump just wants to get a deal done. At some point, Trump recognized he did not have much non-lethal leverage on Putin and started looking to where he might have find some leverage to get a deal done. This week, he started pounding on Ukraine’s president in the media.

This is Trump’s game. He almost always wins. Zelensky did not have a good week playing it.

But Zelensky, like Ronald Reagan, started his public life as an actor and comedian. I have seen Servant of the People. Zelensky is really funny. He needs to use that gift when engaging with Trump.

Zelensky rejected Trump’s initial offer on the mineral deal. Trump’s team echoed President Trump’s displeasure. In my view, this is a negotiating tactic. How could President Zelensky responded in a way to disarm Trump?

Here is an idea:

Mr. President, I read the Art of the Deal. On page 117, it says never accept the first offer when negotiating. So I am taking your advice and not signing this deal. Looking forward to receiving your next offer.

How about last week? Zelensky said Trump is trapped in a “disinformation bubble.” This is language Democrats use when talking about Trump, and it did nothing to get good information to Trump’s voters. Zelensky triggered a social media broadside from Trump while simultaneously further alienating Trump’s supporters by sounding like Chuck Schumer.

Zelensky, up to that point, had been flattering Trump which is the most productive messaging for him. I have run Republican campaigns all my life, and in campaigns, you try to get your opponent off their winning message. Zelensky is in a campaign, and his opponents succeeded in getting him off message.

Zelensky’s left-leaning advisors just don’t know how to deal with Republicans except for shouting. Their frequent missteps with Republicans cut Zelensky’s rating among Trump voters by 30 points from 67% in March of 2022 to 36%. This is prior to Trump’s salvo against him. Perhaps it is time Zelensky tries something different.

Mr. President, this is what spending an hour and a half on the phone with Putin will do to you. Be careful, or next thing you know you will be showing up in Moscow with a big red reset button.

I know your Constitution is important to you. So is ours. When it was written in 1996, it forbade elections during a time of war. Sure, Putin has elections, he just throws all the opposition candidates out of windows before election day.

All the cities in Kyiv that are destroyed are in the Russian speaking parts of Ukraine that Putin invaded to “liberate.” The courage of Ukraine’s soldiers using American weapons has pushed the Russians out of all but 18% of Ukraine, an area about the size of Tennessee.

Come to Ukraine and let me show you what the US and Ukraine have accomplished together and what more we can do with your leadership. Bring Tucker. He might enjoy our supermarkets.

Classic diplomacy is dead in DC for at least four years. Ukraine needs to adapt. Fortunately they have the tools.

Zelensky is much funnier than I am. I recognize that he has had little opportunity to laugh over the last three years, but his humor could be his most important weapon in this crucial fight in the information space for Ukraine’s freedom and global stability.