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The news story made front page headlines around the world, including last Saturday’s pc28����Star. It’s still being talked about and the fallout from the meeting saw Trump this week announce that the U.S. is pausing military aid to Ukraine.

But aside from the ugliness of the Oval Office incident — leaders around the world, including ours in Canada praised Zelenskyy for standing up to Trump and Vice-President JD Vance — from my vantage point the event also provided valuable insights for the assembled media and therefore the public.

Media ethics expert Marsha Barber, a journalism professor at pc28����Metropolitan University (TMU), agrees.

“The important underlying point is that it (the meeting) didn’t happen in secret. All the cards were on the table. And the press was able to witness the entire scene and give the public a sense of precisely what was said,” Barber told me.

We were able to gauge Trump and Vance’s tone as they sat there in their “power suits and red ties,” Barber went on to say.

“Any member of the public following this interaction would have a good sense of the power dynamic and the nuances of the interaction. It’s healthy in a democracy to open up these kinds of high-level consequential meetings, rather than hiding them away in closed-door sessions,” Barber said. 

Well said.

Here are just a few of the many juicy morsels that I believe journalists and the public took away from that extraordinary meeting in Washington:

Trump didn’t conceal his primary interest in Ukraine, which is America gaining access to rare earth minerals. While acknowledging that thousands of soldiers on both sides of the Ukraine invasion have been and continue to be killed and that he wants the bloodshed to stop, Trump frankly stated that he didn’t at this time want to talk about security assurances the U.S. could provide Ukraine to defend against Russia. Rather, Trump said his priority was getting the minerals deal signed with Ukraine first. “I don’t want to talk about security yet. Because I want to get the deal done,” Trump said.

Earlier in the Oval Office meeting, Trump explained his rationale: “They (Ukraine) have among the best in the world in terms of (rare) earth. So, we’re going to be using that — taking it — using it for all of the things we do, including AI, and including weapons and the military. And it’s going to really much satisfy our needs,” Trump said. This reality has serious implications for countries, including Canada, where our politicians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have sounded alarm bells about Trump’s fascination with our minerals and other natural resources.

JD Vance took exception to Zelenskyy’s views on diplomacy with Putin. Tensions between Zelenskyy on one side and Vance and Trump on the other, boiled over when Vance told Zelenskyy that engaging in diplomacy with Russian President Vladimir Putin, rather than tough talk and chest beating, is what’s required to find a “path to peace” in the disastrous three-year war between Russia and Ukraine. Zelenskyy replied that Putin has violated numerous ceasefires with Ukraine since 2014. “What kind of diplomacy, JD are you speaking about? What do you mean?” Zelenskyy asked Vance. “I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country,” Vance said. Vance later continued: “Mr. President (Zelenskyy). With respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media.”

The vibe in the White House press corps seems more Trump-friendly than during his first term. During the Oval Office meeting, Trump called out a CNN reporter for her question about whether rare earth minerals the U.S. would be digging up would be protected from Russia if that country attacked areas where extractions were taking place. Trump shot back that she should worry more about the survival of CNN in terms of its ratings. Not a new retort for him. What was new, however, was the laughter among other Trump-friendly correspondents in the room. It was louder.

Same for the tone of the who openly chastised Zelenskyy for not wearing a suit in the Oval Office. Zelenskyy has already announced that he has stopped wearing suits since the war in his country began — . “Do you own a suit? A lot of Americans have problems with you not respecting the dignity of this office,” the reporter asked Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy replied: “I will wear (a suit) after this war is finished. Maybe something like yours. Maybe something better. I don’t know. We will see.” The exchange seemed to amuse Trump, who turned, smiled and winked at the reporter.