Zelensky asked to leave White House after fiery exchange with Trump, Vance

Oval Office meet turns into war of words between Trump and Ukraine’s President Zelensky. Trump tells Zelensky to “come back when he’s ready for peace”.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky was in Washington DC today to sign a deal with President Donald Trump opening Ukraine’s rare earth mineral deposits to American investment. The deal was agreed earlier this week but remained unsigned. The terms of the deal had not been made public, but both the White House and Kiev had indicated that the deal did not contain firm security guarantees.

After a weeks-long war of words, President Trump was striking a more conciliatory tone in recent days. For example, yesterday he walked back comments he previously made referring to Zelensky as a dictator. He also said that the US would continue to arm Ukraine, assuming the mineral deal was signed to offset the cost.

Oval Office showdown

When Zelensky and Trump met in the Oval Office today, things did not go according to plan. Tempers flared and harsh words were exchanged. Afterwards, Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegation were later asked to leave the White House, and a press conference was canceled. Zelensky left without signing a mineral deal, or any security guarantees from Trump

The fallout did not stop there. After the meeting, Trump posted on Truth Social: “I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels are involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. 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.”

Shortly thereafter, the State Department announced that it was cutting aid supporting Ukraine’s energy grid, which Russia has heavily targeted.

What really happened?

There has been a lot of commentary in the press about who was at fault for this meeting going off the rails. President Trump and Vice President JD Vance have been heavily criticized by most of the press for their treatment of Zelensky, with some characterizing the exchange as an ambush. European leaders have also rushed to defend Zelensky. Others have criticized Zelensky for being too confrontational in pushing back on statements made by Trump and Vance, or “taking the bait“, as Sen. Lindsey Graham put it.

Given the consequential nature of this, at times, very testy exchange, and the resulting fallout, it is important to view the full context. Clips that have been circulated by most news outlets focus on the last 10 minutes of a meeting that was nearly an hour long.

To be sure, this was not the finest hour for either world leader. Considering the dire stakes, both could have demonstrated more tact and grace. This exchange left both Trump and Zelensky further away from their shared goal of ending the war in Ukraine.

Opening remarks

Trump opened with words of welcome to Zelensky, setting aside their previous verbal jousting which he called “a little negotiation spat”. He expressed his hopes of ending the war and putting the money from the minerals deal to use in rebuilding Ukraine. Trump was also complimentary of Ukraine’s soldiers and generals and of Zelensky himself.

Zelensky began speaking about his hope of securing concrete security guarantees. He referred to Russian president Vladimir Putin as a “killer and terrorist” and said he hoped that the US would help to “stop him” from further aggression in Ukraine. He also spoke against making “compromises with a killer” on Ukrainian territory. Russia currently holds 20% of Ukraine’s territory.

Zelensky also said he understood “what Europe is willing to do” to secure Ukraine’s territory and wanted to hear “what the US was willing to do”. He was alluding here to France and the UK stationing peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, implying he hoped the US would do the same.

Press questions

After initial statements, the floor was open for the press to ask questions. Trump emphasized the importance of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals and how American investment would secure Ukraine’s future. He also claimed that had contributed less than the US to Ukraine’s war effort, which Zelensky contradicted insistently. Trump laughed it off and carried on.

Trump spoke about the tragedy of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers being killed by the thousands “as we speak”. Zelensky interjected “they came to our territory”.

Trump expressed his fears that if the conflict carries on it could lead to a third world war. Zelensky spoke up and said that a ceasefire with Russia was not enough without security guarantees from the US. Citing past instances where Russia had broken previous ceasefire agreements, Zelensky implied that British and French peacekeepers would not be enough without a US “backstop”, presumably in the form of boots on the ground. Trump did not rule out having American troops in Ukraine, but believed that the best guarantee the US could offer against Russian aggression was its investment in Ukraine.

Up until the final 10 minutes, Trump largely appeared affable and appeasing with Zelensky, even when Zelensky was at times confrontational.

The fireworks start

Trump was asked about his perceived “alignment” with Russia. He answered that he was “not aligned with Putin. I’m not aligned with anybody. I’m aligned with the United States”. He also referred to the difficulty of getting a deal done given Zelensky and Putin’s mutual hatred.

Vance chimed in to say that Biden’s tactic of “beating our chest” with regard to Putin had only prolonged the war and that diplomacy was the way forward. Zelensky took Vance to task, reiterating that past agreements had not stopped Putin from aggressive action in Ukraine. Zelensky also warned that without sufficient deterrent, Putin may set his sights on the rest of Europe and the US.

Trump then interjected and at this point had lost his temper. There followed some heated crosstalk between Trump and Zelensky. Trump alluded to the Ukraine’s disadvantaged position, its manpower shortage, its unpopular conscriptions, and the high number of deaths. “You don’t have the cards,” Trump said loudly, and accused Zelensky of “gambling with World War III”.

Trump reiterated that cooperation with the United States was Ukraine’s best chance of “coming out all right”. Trump also got in some jabs at Biden and his handling of the war, calling him “stupid” and “not very smart”. “It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this,” Trump said.

Trump concluded his spat with Zelensky by saying, “You’re either going to make a deal, or we’re out. 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”.

The meeting wrapped up with Trump saying, “This is going to be great television, I’ll say that”.

Zelensky asked to leave White House after fiery exchange with Trump, Vance – National & International News – FRI 28Feb2025