This story appeared in the Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here.Welcome to The Logoff. Today Im focusing on a disastrous meeting between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The hostile conversation had immediate consequences for Ukraines war effort and revealed much about how Trump sees the USs new global role.What was supposed to happen? Zelenskyy went to Washington, DC, in the hopes of signing a rare-earth minerals deal with Trump, a rapprochement between the two leaders after Trump had called the Ukrainian president a dictator and falsely accused him of starting the war with Russia. Zelenskyy was hoping that by offering the US access to his countrys minerals deposits, he could secure a better deal for his country in Trumps peace talks with Russia.What happened instead? What began as a polite meeting devolved into a de facto ambush after Zelenskyy questioned what would happen if Russias Vladimir Putin were to break a ceasefire. With cameras rolling, Trump and Vance berated Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, accusing him of ingratitude for US support. After the meeting, Zelenskyy left the White House with the minerals deal unsigned, and Trump released a statement saying the Ukrainian could come back when he is ready for Peace. What now? Trump says hes still pursuing a peace deal, but after Friday, Ukraine seems likely to have even less leverage. Ukraines key ask is a security guarantee from the US a request Putin opposes and Trump has resisted. Zelenskyys prospects are surely worse now than when he woke up this morning.Whats the big picture? The meeting was a shocking display of Trumps posture toward the world and the radical break he represents from the USs previous role in the global order. In a matter of a few highly charged minutes, he flouted the fragile US-Ukraine alliance, publicly humiliated a foreign leader, bound himself even more tightly to Putin, and summed it all up with: This is gonna be great television I will say that.And with that, its time to log off Watching that Trump-Vance-Zelenskyy video brought me perilously close to an anxiety-driven YouTube scroll session. I was rescued by Voxs Today, Explained podcast, which has a fascinating episode about the Oscars foreign films category. Specifically, its about a German film that was actually (and secretly) filmed in Iran with Iranian actors and an Iranian director. I hope you get a chance to enjoy it.Finally, thanks to everyone who signed up for our new Saturday Good News newsletter. If you missed it yesterday, its a weekly dose of hope for these troubled times. You can sign up here. Have a good weekend, and Ill see you back here on Monday.RelatedSee More: