Because of doctor’s appointments and other things (such as a large backlog of letters, thanks to Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the Arkansas Legislature and governor), I didn’t write a column for this week.

But I still have a few thoughts I’d like to share on the Oval Office ambush last Friday. (Yes, I believe, based on several factors, such as the Trump-friendly press allowed in, and the fact that Vance was in the meeting at all, that it’s right to call it an ambush. No matter what, Trump was going to portray himself … and Vladimir Putin … as victims, even if Volodymyr Zelensky said nothing to correct all the mis/disinformation being spouted.)

I watched the entire video Sunday, since the John Brummett column I was editing was about the debacle, and was horrified. While it was collegial at the beginning, the more Trump lied about the amount of aid the U.S. has given to Ukraine versus what Europe has given (along with claiming Barack Obama only gave them sheets), whined about the 2020 election (like that had anything to do with anything), bemoaned that Putin was accused of interfering in our elections (intelligence agencies believe he does that not just here but worldwide), and generally bullied one of our allies, the more disgusted I was. It also didn’t help that Trump kept saying “raw” earth rather than “rare” after the first one or two times (after Zelenskyy talked about Vladimir Putin being a killer and terrorist … guess maybe he got agitated about that) … I was yelling at the video by about the fifth time he did it.

And seriously, why was JD Vance even there? That alone smells to high heaven.

Over the weekend Zelenskyy met in summit with European leaders, who probably counseled him to flatter Trump to get back to the negotiating table. Trump ordered military aid paused to Ukraine Monday.

Tuesday Zelenskyy posted on Xitter that the way the Oval Office meeting went was regrettable, and “My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We are ready to work fast to end the war, and the first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky — ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure — and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same. Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. And we remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins. We are grateful for this.”

We can hope that things will change for the better for Ukraine, and that Putin will be brought to justice for his actions over the last several decades, but that’s going to take strong action against him. With a friend in the White House (and a good deal of the press pool allowed in events like this), that doesn’t look likely. And Trump won’t learn a thing from this, other than bullying works.