You won’t hear this from the mainstream press, but you’ll hear it here first: Volodymyr Zelensky, the Western media’s darling, is in real political trouble at home. I just commissioned credible polling from inside Ukraine. The war-weary population there wants a new president and a negotiated peace.
This reality makes Zelensky less a heroic statesman and more a vulnerable incumbent with a perverse incentive: to keep slow-walking peace, continue milking Western taxpayers, and delay the elections he’s almost certain to lose.
The Best Data We Have
To learn the truth within Ukraine, we used experienced pollsters who surveyed more than 1,000 citizens. These results represent the clearest and most reliable snapshot of Ukrainian opinion:
- In a hypothetical presidential election against General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Zelensky loses by -13 points.
- Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s former armed forces chief, isn’t even in the country. He now serves as ambassador to the United Kingdom—an appointment widely seen as a “consolation prize” from Zelensky meant to marginalize his most popular potential rival. But that move has backfired badly: instead of diminishing Zaluzhnyi, it has only underscored Zelensky’s insecurity and boosted the general’s stature. A man sidelined abroad now leads him by double digits.
- 71% of Ukrainians say corruption is one of the country’s major problems. Just 1% say it isn’t serious.
- A majority, 53%, view Zelensky’s powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, as corrupt. Only 15% disagree.
- By contrast, 64% of Ukrainians do not view Zaluzhnyi as prone to corruption.
- 77% want the war to end through diplomacy alone or through a combination of diplomacy and military action. Only 13% favor a purely military solution—the maximalist line Zelensky and Yermak promote.
Taken together, these numbers reveal fatigue. Ukrainians are tired of corruption, tired of maximalist slogans, and tired of a leader whose act has worn out its welcome—even as the rival he tried to sideline has eclipsed him.
The Perverse Incentive to Stall
That fatigue creates a dangerous dynamic. Zelensky and Yermak know that once the war ends, elections must follow—and polling suggests they will almost certainly lose. Hence, they slow-walk diplomacy, prolong the fighting, and keep Western money flowing to delay the day of reckoning.
It’s a survival scheme, not a real strategy.
The Entertainer Act
Zelensky is an entertainer, not a statesman. His image was carefully built for Western elites to virtue-signal over—a custom-made performer cast as a wartime saint. But entertainers live on image, not accountability. And polling shows the halo has already slipped where it matters most: inside Ukraine.
Ukrainians now see him less as a heroic leader and more as that shady relative you always knew was a scam artist—the Uncle Rico-style hustler with his hand in your pocket. The type you spot as a fraud before anyone else does, until one day it becomes obvious to everyone.
The U.S. Angle
Americans get it, too. In my national polling, 62% of U.S. voters said we should disengage if Kyiv and Moscow cannot negotiate a peace. Ordinary Ukrainians and ordinary Americans both want diplomacy, not blank checks.
But instead of aligning with the people, Washington keeps footing the bill for a leader whose act has already worn out its welcome. As for Putin? To borrow from former NFL coach Dennis Green, he is who we thought he was. An adversary, a rival, a problem—but never a media darling. No halo, no surprise.
The Way Forward
President Trump deserves credit for forcing both sides into talks.
If Kyiv and Moscow remain obstinate, he knows how to raise the cost. For Putin, that means harsh secondary sanctions. For Zelensky, that means drawing down American financial and intelligence support. Unlike Biden, Trump understands that endless giveaways create weakness, not strength.
Because here’s the lesson—one I highlighted in my Obama documentary, and one Americans keep learning the hard way: hero worship is a trap. The harder the media sells you a halo, the more likely there’s a heel underneath it.
And the best, most accurate polling available proves it: Ukrainians are fatigued, Americans are fatigued, and Zelensky’s halo won’t survive the unmasking.
Steve Cortes is president of the League of American Workers and senior political advisor to Catholic Vote. He is a former senior advisor to President Trump and JD Vance, plus a former commentator for Fox News and CNN.
Original article link: American Greatness
Related:
The Limits Of Xi And Putin’s “No-Limits” Partnership—Ruby Osman, Dan Sleat, Project Syndicate
Bear, Dragon, Eagle—Editorial Board, TIPP Insights
Europe’s Poison Pill That Dooms Peace—Editorial Board, TIPP Insights
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. Second NATO Country Reports Russian Drone Incursion - TIPP Insights
Romania says a drone breached its airspace during a Russian attack on neighboring Ukraine – the second NATO country to report such an incursion.
Romanian fighter jets were in the air monitoring a Russian attack in Ukraine on Saturday and were able to track the drone near Ukraine’s southern border, the defence ministry said in a statement.
2. Europe Stumped By Trump Demands Over Russia Sanctions - AFP
US President Donald Trump has demanded that allies stop buying Russian oil before he moves on to punishing Moscow, and told them to hit China with tariffs.
The 27-nation EU has already banned most imports of Russian oil after the Kremlin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, slashing the share of oil it imports from Russia from 29 percent in early 2021 to two percent by mid-2025.
Currently Hungary and Slovakia, both countries friendly to both Moscow and Trump, still buy oil from Russia.
In his post he said NATO countries should place "50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended".
3. Musk’s Starlink Suffers Global Disruption, Military Impacted In Ukraine - TIPP Insights
Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, Starlink, experienced a global outage early Monday that disrupted tens of thousands of users, including Ukraine’s military along the frontlines of its war with Russia.
More than 37,000 U.S. customers reported problems around 12:30 a.m. ET, according to Downdetector. Service was largely restored within an hour.
4. Support For Far-Right Triples In Western German Vote - TIPP Insights
Alternative for Germany (AfD) has tripled its support in local elections in the country’s most populous state, a poll seen as the first electoral test for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition government.
5. Inside The Cocaine Boom Fuelling Europe’s Most Lucrative Drug Market - RFI
Cocaine has never been more abundant, more profitable, or more widely consumed. Record production in South America is fuelling a surge in shipments to Europe, now the most lucrative market for the drug.
RFI maps the new power structures driving the boom – not the cartels of legend, but a web of armed groups and brokers managing the trade.
6. U.S., Britain To Sign Landmark Nuclear Power Agreement - UPI
The United States and Britain are to sign an agreement this week that is expected to boost London's nuclear energy and place it on the pathway to a "golden age" of nuclear power.
Britain announced Sunday that the Atlantic Partnership for Advanced Nuclear Energy agreement will be signed during President Donald Trump's state visit to London starting Tuesday.
7. U.S. Says 'Framework' For TikTok Ownership Deal Agreed With China - BBC
The U.S. Treasury Secretary has said Washington reached a "framework" deal with China on the ownership of TikTok's American operations.
Scott Bessent said the framework was set in trade talks in Madrid to pave the way for US ownership. He added that US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would "complete" the deal on Friday.
Trump said on Truth Social that the talks had "gone very well", while China confirmed a framework agreement but said no deal would be made at the expense of Chinese companies' interests.
8. North Korea Says Nuclear Weapons Status 'Irreversible' - UPI
North Korea said Monday that its status as a nuclear weapons state is "permanently specified" by law and "irreversible" in a statement condemning the United States' latest call for denuclearization.
The statement came in response to remarks by interim Charge d'Affaires Howard Solomon of the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna at a meeting at the International Atomic Energy Agency last week.
9. Who Makes the World’s Steel? Top 10 Countries, Ranked - Visual Capitalist
China produces more than half of the world’s steel supply, crossing the 1 billion-tonne mark in 2024. Surging domestic construction, a vast manufacturing base, and state-led infrastructure projects underpin China’s dominance.
10. Smoking Linked To Increased Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes - Health News
Smokers have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, especially if they are genetically predisposed to the condition, a new study says.
People who ever smoked at all have an elevated risk of all four subtypes of type 2 diabetes, and heavy smokers are at even greater risk, researchers reported Saturday at a meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Vienna.
📊 Market Pulse — September 15, 2025
📈 S&P 500 — 6,615.28 ▲ +0.47%
Stocks advanced, with the S&P 500 pushing higher as tech gains offset weakness in industrials, extending its September climb.
📉 10Y Treasury Yield — 4.034% ▼ -2.7 bp
Yields slipped again, reflecting strong expectations for a Fed rate cut at this week’s meeting and a flight into bonds.
🛢️ Crude Oil — $62.56 ▲ +0.43%
Oil rose modestly, supported by supply concerns after Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.
🪙 Bitcoin — $115,428.74 ▲
Bitcoin climbed, bouncing off recent lows as risk appetite improved and the dollar softened.
💵 U.S. Dollar Index — 97.30 ▼ -0.25%
The dollar weakened slightly, with traders trimming positions ahead of the Fed decision later this week.
🪙 Gold — $3,642.37 ▲ +0.29%
Gold extended gains, staying near record highs as rate cut bets drove demand for safe-haven assets.
