Sparks flew at the White House Friday as both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of being “disrespectful” during a testy exchange in front of reporters in the Oval Office. The president warned Zelenskyy that he “doesn’t have any cards to play” and risked starting “World War III” by resisting a peace deal with Russia. Trump and Vance also chastised Zelenskyy for never thanking the United States for all of its assistance.
The White House meeting was focused in part on a potential bilateral deal on Ukraine’s rare-earth minerals, which are used to make a variety of tech products.
Zelenskyy has reportedly warned that the deal will fail if the U.S. does not adequately provide for Ukraine’s future security against Russia.
The heated exchange began when Zelenskyy told Trump that he and his friends in Poland were concerned that the United States was aligning itself “too much with Putin,” and asked the president what his message was to those people.
Trump responded that if he didn’t align himself with both sides, they would “never have a deal” to end the war.
Jokingly, the president added, “you want me to say really terrible things about Putin and then say ‘hi Vladimir, how are we doing on the deal?’ It doesn’t work that way!”
Trump continued, saying: “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 aligned with the world!”
The president told reporters he just wanted “to get this thing over with” but it was difficult because of the intense hatred Zelenskyy has for Putin.
“It’s very tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate,” he lamented.
Vice President J.D. Vance chimed in at this point, pointing out that the United States of America for the past four years, had a president who talked tough about Vladimir Putin “and then Putin invaded Ukraine and destroyed a significant chunk of the country.”
Vance continued: “The path to peace and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy. We tried the pathway of Joe Biden thumping his chest and pretending that the president of the United States’ words mattered more than the president of the United States’ actions.”
Vance argued that “what makes the U.S. a good country is America engaging in diplomacy.”
Zelenskyy argued back that Putin’s aggression toward Ukraine goes back to 2014 when Russia invaded Ukraine during the Obama era. “During 2014, no one stopped Putin. He just occupied and took. He killed people,” he said, adding that from 2014 until 2022 no one stopped Putin. The Ukraine president also noted that he signed a ceasefire agreement with Putin in 2019 and Putin violated it in 2022 when he invaded.
Zelenskyy challenged Vance to explain “what kind of diplomacy” would work with an adversary like Putin.”
Vance shot back, “I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that will end the destruction of your country.”
As Zelenskyy was responding, Vance interjected, “Mr. Zelenskyy, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media. Right now you guys are going around and forcing 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.”
Sitting in his chair with his arms folded defensively across his chest, Zelenskyy challenged Vance: “Have you been to Ukraine that you [can] say what problems we have?”
The vice president responded that he is well aware of the stories and knew that if he were to visit the Ukraine, he would just be given a “propaganda tour.”
“Do you disagree that you’ve had problems bringing people into your military?” Vance asked the Ukraine president testily. “And do you think it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?”
Zelenskyy, his arms still folded defensively, responded that during war “everybody has problems,” including the United States which is protected by “a nice ocean.” But he warned that the U.S. “will feel it it the future.”
At this point, Trump jumped in and said, “you don’t know that.” And as Zelenskyy tried to respond, Trump angrily snapped, “don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.”
“We’re trying to solve a problem,” Trump continued irritably. “Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.”
Clearly agitated, the president added: “You are in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel.”
The president went on to tell Zelenskyy “You’re right now, not in a very good position … you’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position.”
Trump continued talking over Zelenskyy as the Ukraine president tried to respond, saying “you don’t have the cards right now,” but “with us you have cards.”
Raising his voice, Trump added: “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III!”
“You’re gambling with World War III and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country,” Trump stressed.
“Have you ever said thank you once?” Vance asked the Ukraine president a moment later. Trump piled on: “You have to be thankful, you don’t have the cards. You’re buried there.”
“You’re not acting at all thankful,” the U.S. president said.
“If you didn’t have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks,” Trump added.
Vance piped in, “You could say ‘thank you, except there are disagreements and lets litigate those disagreements,’ rather than trying to fight it out in the American media when you’re wrong and we know that you’re wrong.”
But Trump stated that he thought it was good for the American people to see for themselves “what’s going on.”
Turning to Zelenskyy, he said: “Your people are dying, you’re running low on soldiers, it would be a damn good thing [to make a deal].
Instead, Trump continued, the Ukraine president resisting a ceasefire and making more demands for assistance in fighting the war.
“Look, if you can get a ceasefire right now, you take it so the bullets stop flying and your men stop getting killed,” Trump said.
Trump said said negotiating a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia was tough because “attitudes need to change.”
According to the Associated Press, Trump “abruptly called off the signing of a minerals deal with the U.S” and Zelesnkyy “left the White House shortly after Trump shouted at him, showing open disdain.”
Untouched salad plates and other lunch items were being packed up outside the Cabinet room, where the lunch between Trump and Zelenskyy and their delegations was supposed to have taken place. The White House said the Ukraine delegation was told to leave.
The Ukraine president later posted on X: Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
In an earlier post on X, Zelenskyy said he had also met with a bipartisan group of senators ahead of his meeting with Trump and Vance.
“We take pride in having strategic partners and friends like the United States,” Zelenskyy posted. “We are grateful for the unwavering bicameral and bipartisan support for Ukraine throughout all three years of Russia’s full-scale aggression.”
The White House released a lengthy statement following the testy exchange explaining the president and vice president’s tough stance.
President Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance will always stand up for the interests of the American people and those who respect the United States’ position in the world — and will never allow the American people to be taken advantage of.
President Trump: “Let me tell you, you don’t have the cards. With us, you have the cards — but without us, you don’t have any cards.”
More than half (52%) of Ukrainians want a quick end to the war and believe Ukraine “should be open to ceding some territory in exchange for peace,” according to a November Gallup poll.
Since martial law was declared in Ukraine, 1,000,050 Ukrainians have been drafted into military service. In October 2024, Ukraine announced it would be drafting another 160,000 — bringing the total number of conscripted Ukrainians to 1,160,050.
The average age of Ukrainian troops is 43 years old.
“Even if the West did come through with all the weapons they have pledged, ‘we don’t have the men to use them,’ one of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s close aides told Time’s Simon Shuster, revealing that the average age of a Ukrainian soldier has already reached 43.”
One of Zelenskyy’s closest aides told TIME in 2023 that he is “[deluding] himself … We’re out of options. We’re not winning. But try telling him that.”
The Ukrainian army is facing rising desertions as “ill-trained and exhausted soldiers [go] AWOL,” with the military further strained by struggles in recruiting and the “arrests of respected and popular combat officers.”
President Trump: “You’re gambling with World War III.”Zelesnkyy himself has acknowledged that the situation in Ukraine could lead to WWIII, and that without U.S. aid, they would lose: “A third world war could start in Ukraine, continue in Israel, and move on from there to Asia, and then explode somewhere else.”
President Trump: “I gave you the javelins to take out all those tanks. Obama gave you sheets.”President Trump gave anti-tank javelin missiles to Ukraine, while Obama gave non-lethal aid only, including blankets.
EURACTIV: “Poroshenko asks Obama for weapons, obtains blankets”
President Trump approved lethal weapons sales to Ukraine in 2017: “The new arms include American-made Javelin anti-tank missiles, U.S. officials said.”
President Trump approved a $39 million sale of defensive lethal weapons to Ukraine in 2019: “The new package will include Javelin anti-tank weapons, with one U.S. official saying it includes 150 missiles and two launchers.”
Vice President Vance: “You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October.”Zelenskyy was called out for campaigning against President Trump in Pennsylvania.
“Zelenskyy was flown to Pennsylvania in an Air Force C-17 plane.”
In a separate statement posted on Truth Social, President Trump said:
“We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure. It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and 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. 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.”
The reactions from the Democrats and quislings Cheney and Kinzinger could have been scripted in advance. The trouble is that if they each were asked for their solution, only silence would follow. They do not even have a plan to offer. And that is because Ukraine has no cards—none at all.
I’ve read conflicting statements about the minerals deal. This is what I understand to be true----
The Ukrainian Parliament DID sign off on the deal. However, President Trump did not consider it valid unless signed by Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy was supposed to have signed in the canceled press conference.
Zelenskyy is demanding a military back stop. He isn’t going to get it. Not from the United States and not from NATO, and not from the EU. His best chance was an economic backstop by doing joint ventures in Ukraine with France, Britain, Germany, the United States, and Poland. That is exactly what President Trump has been trying to craft for weeks now.
In June 2022, NBC News reported that Joe Biden got so angry with Zelenskyy’s unreasoning demands he shouted at him over the phone and nearly hung up. So, this type of behavior is nothing new and was not----as Democrats and many in the media are saying—an ambush pre-laid out by Trump. Trump wanted this deal to go through.
However, trying to push Trump----in a similar manner that Zelenskyy pushed Biden is and was an immediate no go. Anyone with a mere passing understanding of Donald Trump should have known that. Trump walked away in a similar manner with Kim Jong Un—and that was at a time when Un was tossing missiles towards Japan, Hawaii, and Guam. To be crass, how stupid can Zelenskyy be???