Trump and Vance Berate Zelensky in Bizarre White House Spectacle
A meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington on Friday turned into a shouting match in the Oval Office in front of a global audience, in an embarrassing spectacle that underscores the rift between the United States and its erstwhile European ally.
The meeting was designed to reach an economic agreement focused on giving the United States access to rare-earth mineral deposits in the war-torn country. Zelensky was also hoping to get security guarantees from Washington, as the Trump administration pushes ahead with efforts to reconcile with Russia and start negotiations aimed at bringing the war in Ukraine to an end.
During a question-and-answer session with reporters, Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance took turns angrily interrupting and berating Zelensky, for whom English is a recently acquired, and sometimes uncomfortable, language.
“You’re not really in a good position right now. You’re gambling with World War III,” Trump shouted at Zelensky at one point, cutting off the Ukrainian leader amid a chaotic exchange.
The quarrel began as Zelensky tried to respond to a comment made by Vance, who quickly cut him off. “I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American people,” Vance interrupted, before wielding a slew of accusations beloved by MAGA critics of Ukraine, including that Zelensky “campaigned” for Joe Biden by visiting a factory in Pennsylvania last year, and that Ukraine is forcibly conscripting soldiers.
Ukraine, which is under martial law, does use conscripts. Many of the soldiers serving in the Ukrainian military have been drafted — which has historically been a common practice when a country is at war to defend itself.
The White House effort to force Ukraine to give up billions of dollars in resources had been the flashpoint for an acrimonious back-and-forth between Trump and Zelensky over the preceding weeks.
Trump claimed that Ukraine owes the United States “$500 billion,” saying that this was the amount of military aid Washington had provided to Kyiv. The true amount of aid provided is closer to $115 billion.
“Have you said ‘thank you’ once?” Vance snapped in today’s White House meeting at Zelensky, who visibly struggled to maintain his composure as the two American leaders tag-teamed their attack.
The initial draft of the resource deal would have required Kyiv to pay revenue from resources into an account controlled by the U.S., until it reached $500 billion. It would have also required Kyiv to add “a sum equal to twice the amount that the United States provides to Ukraine” in the future.
The deal intended to be signed on Friday omitted these demands. Instead, the final draft expresses generic goodwill and offers hazy promises of revenue from resources, with both sides able to walk away claiming success. The deal does not include any specific security guarantees for Ukraine.
Trump’s focus on wrangling concessions out of Ukraine emphasizes the harsh realities of getting meaningful peace talks off the ground. A U.S. State Department delegation is currently meeting with Russian counterparts in Istanbul to discuss a range of issues related to normalizing relations between the two countries. But Russia has not yet agreed to talks about the war in Ukraine.
Trump has focused primarily on the U.S. relationship with Ukraine, in an effort to demonstrate progress toward a ceasefire — something he promised he would achieve within “24 hours.”
But given the anger and irritation displayed on Friday, there is little hope of productive peace talks anytime soon.
“You’ve talked too much,” Trump told Zelensky at one point. He later implied that Ukraine would have no choice but to agree to whatever ceasefire deal Washington was able to secure, saying, “You either make a deal, or we’re out.”
Zelensky later appeared to leave the White House without signing the deal, with Trump posting on Truth Social: “He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he’s ready for peace.”
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