In a stunning reversal, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance apologized to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, for their hostile behavior during an Oval Office meeting in February.
In what was supposed to be a productive, civil meeting, Trump and Vance verbally attacked Zelenskyy and accused him of being “disrespectful” and “ungrateful.” The televised clash left millions of Americans appalled, and even White House officials agreed that Trump and Vance should engage in self-reflection. After scouring the internet for resources, officials stumbled upon SEAL lessons, the 30-minute Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning advisory lectures that ACHS employs to provide mental-health-focused aid to students.
Trump and Vance were initially reluctant to be lectured on mental health and remained unremorseful of their behavior. But, after catching a glimpse of the pithy ‘Bullying: Be Gone!’ title in a pastel comic sans font, the current leaders of the Free World became instantly intrigued.
The brief, yet informative Canva slideshow began with a ‘mood meter,’ prompting Trump and Vance to pick an emoji ranging from one donning sunglasses and a chilled-out expression, to one with a distressed grimace, to another with a beaming smile. Vance first selected a neutral, half-smile-half-frown expression. After much consideration, Trump landed on the silly emoji, with one eye squinted and a tongue sticking out, and Vance quickly changed his answer to match.
The lecture contained numerous pearls of wisdom such as “Be a buddy, not a bully,” and “Kindness is contagious.” It also urged the president and vice president to put themselves in others’ shoes and consider the battles they may be fighting.
“I think a lot of things, probably more things than any person has ever thought before,” Trump said, “But I’ve never thought of it that way.”
“I felt this sudden wave of altruism I hadn’t experienced in years,” Vance said, his blue eyes growing even more piercing as they filled with tears. “I knew–I just knew I needed to right my wrongs.”
The president and the vice president then called Zelenskyy to express their regret. In a 93-minute phone conversation, Trump and Vance profusely apologized to Zelenskyy for their behavior, which they could now recognize as bullying. Trump admitted he had been retaining a “fixed mindset,” a term he learned from the SEAL lesson, and would be working towards gaining a “growth mindset” instead.
To further affirm their remorse, the president and vice president uploaded a 46-minute, tearful apology video to YouTube titled “We Messed Up.”
In the video, Trump and Vance reiterated their apologies to President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine, but they also preached the importance of saying no to bullying. “You never know what huge struggles people are going through,” Trump said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump and Vance plan to make this video a series in which they will apologize to people of color, teachers, immigrants, childless cat ladies, federal workers, stock market investors and Canada. However, Trump has no plans to apologize for criticizing Kanye West’s new album, which he described as “a very bad album, not very good.”
Trump also indicated that he is now rethinking his decision to shut down the Department of Education, as he was unaware of the groundbreaking programs it was funding.
“SEAL lessons are the best thing ever, probably in history,” Trump said. “If I have to bring back the Department of Education, stronger than ever before, just to protect them, believe me–I’ll do it.”
