Nicholas Khoo, Associate Professor Politics, University of Otago joins Ryan Bridge on Herald NOW. Video / Herald NOW
Scrambling to prevent the proposed carve-up of his country, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was suddenly forced to confront a smaller but symbolically fraught dilemma.
A message had been delivered from the White House – when the Ukrainian President arrived at the Oval Office, he was expected to wear a suit.
The intentwas clear – to impose a ritual humiliation on Zelenskyy even before he had exchanged a word with Donald Trump.
He faced a stark choice. He could bow to the demand and risk alienating his countrymen, or arrive in the fatigues that have become his trademark and risk Trump’s wrath.
In the end, Zelenskyy fudged, donning a military style field jacket over his fatigues, a compromise he made when attending Pope Francis’ funeral in April, and one he hoped would placate the President without betraying the symbolism he has cultivated throughout the war.
Zelenskyy compromised by wearing a military-style jacket over his fatigues. Photo / Getty Images
This pleased Trump, who complimented his Ukrainian counterpart on Monday for wearing a formal outfit during their latest high-stakes Oval Office meeting.
When the same reporter who sparked a geopolitical crisis with his suit jibe in February said Zelenskyy looked “fabulous”, Trump replied: “I said the same thing.”
Turning to Zelenskyy, the US President said: “That’s the one that attacked you last time.” “I remember that,” the Ukrainian said as laughter rippled through the room.
His sartorial choices have long infuriated parts of the American right. When he addressed a joint session of Congress in December 2022, Zelenskyy wore olive fatigues, the uniform he has worn ever since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of his country 42 months ago.
To some American conservatives, this was a flagrant breach of protocol. For a foreign head of state, and a supplicant at that, to address so august a gathering in such casual attire was seen as arrogant and manipulative.
The question of dress came to the fore during the ritualistic dressing-down Zelenskyy received at the hands of Trump and JD Vance, his vice-president, at the White House on February 28.
The confrontation began shortly after Brian Glenn, a right-wing journalist romantically linked to Marjorie Taylor Greene, the firebrand congresswoman, asked: “Why don’t you wear a suit? You’re at the highest level in this country’s office, and you refuse to wear a suit. Do you own a suit?”
Moments earlier, Trump had also sneered at his guest’s appearance after greeting him outside the White House.
US President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. Photo / Getty Images
Zelenskyy’s reply then was the same as always – he dresses as a man of war, in solidarity with the Ukrainian soldiers defending their countrymen against Russian invasion. In this, he echoed Winston Churchill, who throughout World War II favoured a one-piece boiler suit of his own design, wearing it when he addressed Congress in 1941.
Churchill’s attire was celebrated across the American political spectrum as the mark of a leader who lived and breathed the struggle. What was then admired as authenticity is now derided by many Maga supporters as insolence.
Zelenskyy has long pledged that he would wear a suit only when the war is over – keeping a blazer at the end of his wardrobe of fatigues as a reminder that brighter times may yet lie ahead.
That he has now been forced to abandon this pledge to himself and his people is a measure of the desperation he faces.
In seeking to persuade Trump not to forsake his country, Zelenskyy has sacrificed a smaller principle in the hope of preserving the greater ones at stake.
