Lula da Silva: Donald Trump Wants to Be Emperor, Ruler of the World

BRASILIA, FRIDAY — The actions of United States President Donald Trump, who openly attacked and attempted to undermine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are deemed inappropriate. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva described this behavior as a reflection of Trump’s desire to proclaim himself as the "emperor" of the world.

"Post-World War II democracy has been the best example of governance in the past 70 years. However, the way (Trump) acts, he is trying to become the emperor of the world," said Lula in an interview with a local Brazilian radio station on Thursday (20/2/2025).

Lula's view was expressed after the international community saw indications of Trump and his cabinet pressuring Zelenskyy to reach a peace deal with Russia. Not only trying to get rare earth metals contained in Ukrainian soil as compensation, Trump and his cabinet also began to push for a change of government in the country.

Trump also blamed Zelenskyy and Ukraine, which he considered had a role in Russia's decision to invade the country.

On the other hand, since the beginning Trump has tried to get closer to Russian President Vladimir Putin by saying that he understands the reasons for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Putin responded by releasing Marc Fogel, an American teacher, on February 11. Along with that, the meeting of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, also planned a meeting between Trump and Putin. Ukraine was not mentioned whether it would be included in the meeting.

Lula's attitude toward Trump is very different from that of Putin, his colleague in BRICS, a new multilateral diplomacy platform. Lula said that Trump's comments on Ukraine are the real estate tycoon's way of influencing the minds of all countries and all global public policies.

Lula reminded Trump and his cabinet to respect Ukraine's sovereignty.

On the issue of the invasion of Ukraine, Lula has repeatedly launched harsh criticism of the leaders involved in it. During a visit to Spain in late April 2023, Lula criticized the Kremlin's decision to invade Ukraine. He called the invasion an unacceptable policy.

At the same time, Lula also criticized the US and European policies that continue to supply weapons to Ukraine. In Lula's view, what all parties should also think about is how to start peace talks to end the war.

"I understand the European view of this war. It is unacceptable for one country to invade another, but this is a war where I don't think anyone is talking about peace," he said at the time.

While attending a meeting of heads of state to promote peace in Ukraine held in Switzerland, Lula refused to sign a joint communique. Lula said at the time that peace talks must be attended by both parties, in this case Ukraine and Russia. "We will not be able to resolve the conflict if only one party is present at the negotiating table," he said.

“Let’s bring Russia and Zelenskyy to the table and see if we can convince them that peace will produce better results than war. In peace, no one should die and no one should be destroyed. There is no need to sacrifice innocent soldiers, especially young ones, and a deal can be reached,” he added. He was also willing to mediate negotiations between the two warring parties.

But what is happening now is that the attitudes and policy choices taken by Trump and his aides are increasingly alienating Ukraine in talks with Russia. Trump aides have openly called Zelenskyy's criticism of Trump and his inner circle an insult.

“Frankly, some of the rhetoric coming out of Kyiv and the insults against President Trump are unacceptable,” said Mike Waltz, the US government’s national security adviser.

Zelenskyy openly accused Trump of buying into the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin's propaganda, especially that Ukraine was the one who started the war. The comments came during a meeting between Zelenskyy and Mike Kellogg, the US government's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, in Kyiv yesterday.

Waltz denied that Ukraine was being left out of the talks, insisting that there was plenty of engagement and dialogue by the US with Kyiv and its European allies.

Waltz said the process the White House is trying to play out is a rational plan they are trying to work through. “This is a reasonable plan. They may not like it, but we are going to push it forward and everybody will stop talking when the fighting is over,” he said.

The US is trying to put extra pressure on Ukraine to force Zelenskyy to bow down to Trump. US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday (20/2/2025) opened the possibility of ending military aid to Ukraine.

Johnson said there was no appetite for the U.S. to pass another law that would legalize additional funding for Ukraine. “There is no appetite for that,” he said.

Johnson also warned that Zelenksyy must move quickly, accept the peace process currently being pursued by Trump and his aides or risk losing his country.

"We have to end this conflict. President Trump is absolutely right. It's time to end it, and he (Trump) is the force that can make it happen," he said. Johnson also said Zelenskyy's criticism of Ukraine not being invited to the talks was misplaced.

Efforts to pressure Zelenskyy and his aides were also carried out by Elon Musk to the US efficiency department. Musk, the owner of the social media platform X, said a feature would be introduced so that users could fact-check posts by Zelenskyy and his aides that were potentially misleading.

Zelenskyy used the X platform to spread his information and policies on the war. Now, he is also using the platform to voice his criticism of Trump's steps in mediating between Russia and Ukraine. Zelenskyy considers the process to be unfavorably directed at Ukraine.

Musk, like Trump, has started attacking Zelenskyy and calling him an incompetent leader. Musk also said that polls about Zelenskyy's government were rigged by his aides. The SpaceX owner is also pushing for a change of government in Ukraine to replace Zelenskyy and his aides.

“In reality, he is hated by the Ukrainian people, which is why he refuses to hold elections,” Musk wrote on his X account. (AP/AFP/REUTERS)