Was it wise of Zelensky to give interview to Lex Fridman? Did Zelensky win here?

“Mission failed,” comrade.

Zelenskyy is a great leader, a powerful public speaker, talented diplomat and a natural-born actor.

Him agreeing to be interviewed by a hostile interviewer shows an amazing strategic hindsight.

His answers to Fridman’s questions — mostly based on talking points of Russian propaganda — came across as sincere, heart-felt and spontaneous.

And I’m 100% sure they were not.
Zelenskyy came fully prepared.

He came across sincere, because he was sincere.
But he was ready to be asked such questions, and he knew exactly how to convey his message — and at the same time, he didn’t come across as arrogant, conceited or ungrateful.

Zelenskyy is so many heads above Alexei (“Lex”) Fridman, but a wise man is like the ocean to a river — he doesn’t need to elevate himself, but purposefully stays below, to allow the input.

What is crucial is that Zelenskyy's performance in the interview was powerful and convincing. And now, his message is in front of millions, who would otherwise not watch Zelenskyy for 3 seconds — let alone 2.5 hours.

(Yes, it’s not 3 hours — for over half an hour after and before the interview Fridman is busy self-aggrandizing.)

Zelenskyy’s performance was a textbook example of why true leaders must give interviews to people who don't ask them questions in the style, “Sir, how do you manage to be so awesome and humble?”

That’s what true leaders do.
They get out and fight.

Honestly, when Zelenskyy agreed to be interviewed by Fridman, I was feeling uneasy. I believed he would do a great job, but there is always the editing and interviewer’s bias that could screw it up. And there is so much at stake right now.

But Zelenskyy did a stellar job.

Frankly, I’ll be surprised if we now see Fridman’s interview with Putin — even though it has supposedly been agreed upon.