(WASHINGTON) — With Ukraine’s future in the balance, a high-stakes meeting on Friday between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy devolved into a shouting match.
The stunning exchange, before cameras and one unlike any other in the Oval Office in modern times, saw Trump and Vice President JD Vance rebuke Zelenskyy for his handling of the war, again falsely blaming the Ukrainian leader for a conflict that began when Russia’s Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion.
Zelenskyy was in Washington to sign an agreement that would give U.S. access to Ukraine’s mineral resources. But that was before boiling tensions exploded into public view as Trump and Vance accused Zelenskyy of being “disrespectful” toward the United States and the Trump administration.
Their news conference, where they were to sign the deal, was canceled. Trump issued a terse statement and Zelenskyy left shortly after.
“I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” Trump said in a social media post. “I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
Here are key takeaways.
Trump threatens Zelenskyy: ‘Make a deal or we’re out’
After boxing Ukraine and Europe out of initial peace talks with Russia, Trump is continuing to claim Ukraine doesn’t have the “cards right now.”
“You’re gambling with World War III,” Trump told Zelenskyy as they talked over each other in the Oval Office.
he American president then seemed to deliver a kind of ultimatum to the Ukrainian leader.
“You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out,” Trump said. “And if we’re out, you’ll fight it out. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty, but you’ll fight it out.”
Vance gets involved, confronts Zelenskyy
At one point, Vance stepped in to defend Trump’s diplomatic approach, including his talks with Putin, and take aim at Zelenskyy.
Vance demanded to know whether Zelensky has said “thank you” once.
“Mr. President, 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,” Vance said to Zelenskyy. “Right now, you guys are going around enforcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”
Zelenskyy tried to interject to ask Vance if he’s ever been to Ukraine to see the destruction.
“First of all, during the war, everybody has problems, even you. But you have nice ocean and don’t feel now, but you will feel it in the future,” he told Vance.
Trump then jumped in again to chastise Zelenskyy: “Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.”
Zelenskyy calls Putin a ‘terrorist’
Prior to the blow-up between the leaders, Zelenskyy had harsh words for Putin.
“I really count on your strong position to stop Putin,” Zelenskyy said to Trump. “And you said that enough with the war. I think that’s very important being to say these words to Putin at the very beginning, at the very beginning of war, because he is a killer and terrorist. But I hope that together we can stop him.”
The comments come amid the radical shift in U.S. foreign policy that saw the U.S. first hold peace talks with Russian counterparts. Trump has called Zelenskyy a “dictator” but has declined to call Putin the same. On Thursday, Trump said he trusts Putin to “keep his word” if a deal is reached.
On Friday, Trump pushed back that he wasn’t “aligned” with Putin.
“I’m not aligned with Putin. I’m not aligned with anybody. I’m aligned with the United States of America, and for the good of the world. I’m alive with the world, and I want to get this thing over with,” Trump said.
But he then seemed to suggest Zelenskyy was a major obstacle in negotiations: “You see the hatred he’s got for Putin? It’s very tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate.”
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