\n
![](\"https:\/\/en.hamsonews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/5402315.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came to Washington optimistic that signing President Donald Trump\u2019s desired minerals deal would stabilize their relationship and keep the U.S. on his side.<\/p>\n
Turns out he was walking into an ambush.<\/p>\n
Trump and Vice President JD Vance both turned on the embattled wartime leader during a remarkably tense exchange in the Oval Office on Friday, accusing Zelenskyy of failing to express sufficient gratitude for U.S. involvement and overplaying what they said was a weak diplomatic hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve done enough talking. You\u2019re not winning this,\u201d Trump said, raising his voice to Zelenskyy. \u201cYou have a damn good chance of coming out okay because of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fireworks started more than 40 minutes into what had been a cordial conversation about the economic agreement the two countries planned to sign and vague assurances from Trump about the U.S. standing with Ukraine if and when its war with Russia ends. But after the remarkable and very public spat, Zelensky was turned away from the White House, departing early as the leaders scrubbed a planned press conference and the signing of the framework for a deal to share future profits from Ukraine\u2019s rare minerals.<\/p>\n
Trump dismissed Zelensky with a\u00a0TruthSocial post\u00a0just before the leader\u2019s SUV pulled back into the West Wing portico to ferry him away. \u201cI 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,\u201d the president wrote. \u201cI don\u2019t want an advantage. I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump, who during the campaign said he could quickly and easily end the war, is now facing a more complicated geopolitical reality. But he continues to exert pressure on Ukraine, reversing America\u2019s stance that defending the country\u2019s sovereignty from Russian attacks was critical for global stability and security.<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s foreign minister this week made clear that the Kremlin is not inclined to come to the negotiating table as it continues to make slow inroads along the war\u2019s current battle lines in eastern Ukraine. But Trump has yet to criticize Putin publicly and instead has adopted the Kremlin\u2019s positions, including opposition to NATO membership for Ukraine and the falsehood that Ukraine is responsible for starting the war. Russia attacked Ukraine three years ago without provocation.<\/p>\n
Vance, who\u2019d been sitting quietly during Friday\u2019s meeting, took issue with the Ukrainian president\u2019s criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who Zelenskyy referred to as a \u201cterrorist\u201d known for breaking his word as he pleaded for American military backing before a phalanx of TV cameras and journalists.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office, litigating in front of the American media,\u201d Vance told Zelensky. \u201cRight 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump, who had earlier lauded Ukraine\u2019s courage throughout the war and left the door open to the U.S. providing security guarantees, grew more animated as Zelensky tangled with Vance, who dismissed his invitation to come see the war in person as a \u201cpropaganda tour\u201d aimed at maintaining the West\u2019s financial support.<\/p>\n
Zelensky warned Trump that \u2014 despite having a \u201cnice ocean\u201d separating the U.S. from Europe \u2014 America would eventually feel the impact of Russia overtaking Ukraine and potentially its neighbors.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t tell us what we\u2019re going to feel,\u201d Trump shot back. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to solve a problem.<\/p>\n
He continued: \u201cYou\u2019re in no position to dictate what we\u2019re going to feel. We\u2019re going to feel very good and very strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zelensky struggled to respond as Trump and Vance took turns infantilizing and berating him for what they said was a lack of gratitude and his strategic decision to state his case with the press in the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s go litigate those disagreements rather than trying to fight it out in the American media when you\u2019re wrong,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to be thankful,\u201d Trump told Zelensky, expressing frustration that Ukraine\u2019s leader, whose country has staved off Russian forces for three years, wasn\u2019t more willing to make concessions that would quickly end the war. \u201cYou don\u2019t have the cards. You\u2019re buried there. You people are dying. You\u2019re running low on soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump reminded Zelensky that he provided Ukraine with Javelin missiles in his first term \u2014 after President Barack Obama did not in response to Russia\u2019s 2014 invasion of Crimea.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to be more thankful, because, let me tell you, you don\u2019t have the cards. With us, you have the cards, but without us, you don\u2019t have any cards,\u201d said Trump, suggesting that it was Zelensky\u2019s posture \u2014 not Putin\u2019s \u2014 that was the primary impediment to ending the war.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be a tough deal to make, because the attitudes have to change,\u201d Trump said. \u201cYou\u2019re either going to make a deal or we\u2019re out. And if we\u2019re out, you\u2019ll fight it out. And I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be pretty.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Source: Politico)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n