Kenneth Roth, member of the Bard College Berlin Board of Governors, speaks on U.S.-Ukraine relations for Democracy Now

Kenneth Roth, member of the Bard College Berlin Board of Governors, was interviewed by Democracy Now in response to the recent Oval Office meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. President Donald Trump, and U.S. Vice President JD Vance.

Roth is the former executive director of Human Rights Watch and a visiting professor at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and has recently published the memoir and strategy guide, Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments.

"It's embarrassing, frankly," says Roth of the White House altercation, "to see the two leading American officials behaving in such a juvenile fashion when these are life and death matters, not only for Ukrainian people, but also for Ukrainian democracy and European democracy."

Referencing his February 2025 opinion piece for The Guardian—“Even Trump can be cajoled into doing the right thing [for the wrong reason] – you just have to know which buttons to press”—Roth maintains hope that by appealing to Trump’s self-image as a Master Dealmaker, a productive deal that maintains democracy in Ukraine can be made. “I do think there's a way of salvaging disaster,” he says.

Watch the full interview on YouTube or read the transcript here.

Post Date: 03-13-2025