Here is a rewrite in an ironic, third-person style:
The President pretended to be decisive, claiming he would "make calls" to Zelensky as if that settled matters, while secretly enjoying the theater of diplomacy. He agreed with Rubio and Whitcoff on the presence of fine business representatives—as if commerce could magically conclude a conflict. Progress, indeed, was supposedly achieved, and everyone nodded at the illusion of momentum.