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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sat down with a popular MAGA-aligned podcaster in an apparent attempt to curry favor with American right-wingers ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Zelenskyy joined Russian American Lex Fridman's podcast — the same show on which Trump appeared during his 2024 presidential campaign — for an episode released on Sunday. Fridman, as you might predict, threw fewer softball questions to Zelenskyy than he did to Trump. And the interview became pointed at times. In one exchange, highlighted by Mediaite, Zelenskyy essentially claps back at Fridman for suggesting Ukrainians ought to “forgive” Russian President Vladimir Putin for the deaths he has caused in Ukraine.
To forgive? No one will forgive. This is absolutely impossible to forgive him.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
“To forgive? No one will forgive,” Zelenskyy said. “This is absolutely impossible to forgive him. We cannot get into the head and soul of a person who lost their family. Nobody never will accept this. Absolutely impossible. I don’t know. Do you have children?”
When Fridman said no, Zelenskyy basically explained to the podcast host why Putin's invasion of Ukraine — which has killed hundreds of Ukrainian children, according to the United Nations — is inexcusable.
At points in the interview, Zelenskyy sounds like an adult having to explain foreign relations and basic concepts of human decency to a child, a seemingly degrading situation that I suspect Zelenskyy endured out of desperation. Zelenskyy told Fridman that he and the Ukrainian people “really count on” Trump’s being strong enough to pressure Putin to halt Russia’s invasion. And the Ukrainian leader said he’d like to attend Trump’s inauguration but hasn’t been invited.
“I thought he publicly invited you,” Fridman said. “But OK, I hope to see you there.”
I think it’s fair to see Zelenskyy’s appearance with Fridman as a last-ditch effort to ingratiate Ukraine with Trump supporters and the Putin-friendly president-elect himself. Trump has vowed to bring a swift end to the Russia-Ukraine war (though he hasn't actually explained how).
Another popular MAGA-friendly podcast host, conspiracy theorist Joe Rogan, claimed last year that he had rebuffed efforts by Zelenskyy’s team to book an appearance on his show. Rogan has been known to spread misinformation about Russia’s war in Ukraine to his large following, and he and Fridman have had a conversation about wartime propaganda that, at times, seemed to downplay its impact.
Zelenskyy’s team hasn’t confirmed it ever reached out to Rogan, but the fact he sat with Fridman, on its own, suggests he’s venturing into MAGA world’s media bubble to urgently confront pro-Putin rhetoric head-on and engender some pro-Ukrainian vibes in the movement before Trump returns to the White House.