Trump's Oval Office thrashing of Zelenskyy shows limits of Western
allies' ability to sway US leader
[March 01, 2025]
By ZEKE MILLER
WASHINGTON (AP) — All it took was 90 seconds for weeks of tortured
diplomacy to unwind in spectacular fashion.
President Donald Trump’s Oval Office thrashing of Ukraine's Volodymyr
Zelenskyy on Friday laid bare the limits of a full-court press by
America’s allies aimed at reshaping Trump’s determination to end
Russia’s invasion even if the terms are not to Ukraine’s liking.
It also stressed the profound ways Trump feels emboldened to redirect
U.S. foreign policy priorities toward his “America First” agenda in ways
that extend well beyond those of his tumultuous first term.
The sudden blowup was the most heated public exchange of words between
world leaders in the Oval Office in memory, as the usual staid work of
diplomacy descended into finger-pointing, shouting and eye-rolling.
The encounter left the future of the U.S.-Ukraine relationship, and
Kyiv’s ability to defend itself in the brutal conflict with Russia, in
mortal jeopardy.
“You either make a deal or we are out,” Trump told Zelenskyy,
underscoring the American leader’s plans to dictate a swift end to the
war or leave its longtime ally to continue the fight without its
strongest backer.
The stunning episode capped a week of what turned out to be largely
futile efforts by U.S. allies to paper over differences between
Washington and Kyiv and to try to steer Trump away from his flirtations
with Moscow.
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron huddled with Trump to lay
the groundwork for an eventual European-led peacekeeping force in
Ukraine aimed at deterring future Russian aggression and to encourage
the U.S. president to be more skeptical of Vladimir Putin.
But even as Trump and Macron greeted each other with a vise-like grip,
the U.S. was splitting with its European allies at the United Nations by
refusing to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in a series of
resolutions marking the three-year anniversary of the war.
On Thursday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Washington and
appealed to Trump for a U.S. “backstop” for European nations who would
provide front-line security for Ukraine. He was in essence looking for
insurance that, should a peace deal be reached, Russia won’t restart the
fighting in the future. Starmer brought flattery and a state visit
invitation from King Charles III to soften the ask.
The approach seemed to work, as Trump struck a more conciliatory tone
toward Ukraine, calling America’s support for the country against
Russia’s invasion “a very worthy thing to do” and disclaiming any memory
that he had called the Ukrainian leader a “dictator.”
But Trump also brushed aside Putin’s past broken diplomatic promises,
claiming they occurred under different presidents, and saying the
Russian leader had never violated a commitment to him. It came as his
aides were planning a series of negotiating sessions with Russian
officials to lay the groundwork for a potential meeting between Trump
and Putin in the coming weeks.
All the while, Trump was focused on securing a financial stake in
Ukraine’s critical minerals to recoup the tens of billions the U.S. has
given to Kyiv to defend itself. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, wanted more than
Washington’s vague promises that the U.S. would work to preserve its
economic interest in Ukraine under the agreement and pushed for more
concrete security guarantees.
But Trump would not budge, and U.S. officials repeatedly said Zelenskyy
would not be welcome to meet with the president to discuss Trump’s push
for negotiations with Russia until it was signed. After weeks of
browbeating, Zelenskyy’s government on Wednesday formally agreed to the
proposal, clearing the path for Friday’s meeting.
It started off cordially enough, as Trump and Zelenskyy spoke politely,
even with admiration, of one of another for the first half-hour of the
meeting. Trump even suggested he would continue some military assistance
to Ukraine until he could secure an enduring peace deal with Russia.
But when the Ukrainian leader raised alarm about trusting any promises
from Putin to end the fighting, Vice President JD Vance rebuked him for
airing disagreements with Trump in public. It instantly shifted the
tenor of the conversation. Zelenskyy grew defensive, and Trump and his
vice president blasted him as ungrateful and “disrespectful” and issued
stark warnings about future American support.
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President Donald Trump, right, shakes the hand of France's President
Emmanuel Macron during a joint press conference in the East Room of
the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (Ludovic
Marin/Pool via AP)
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, both a defense hawk and a
strident ally of Trump’s, said he had warned Zelenskyy ahead of the
meeting “not to take the bait” in his dealings with Trump, who has
repeatedly shown a penchant for throwing criticism but a deep
resistance to receiving it.
It was Vance — a longtime critic of American support for Ukraine —
who dangled it, when he insisted diplomacy was the only pathway
forward.
“What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about?” Zelenskyy
said, listing Russia’s past violations of ceasefires. “What do you
mean?”
“I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the
destruction of your country,” Vance responded before tearing into
the Ukrainian leader. “Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s
disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to
litigate this in front of the American media.”
Trump then let loose, warning the Ukrainian leader, “You’re gambling
with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to
the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of
people say they should have.”
At another point, Trump declared himself “in the middle,” seeming to
formally break from years of American support for Ukraine. He went
on to deride Zelenskyy’s “hatred” for Putin as a roadblock to peace.
“You see the hatred he’s got for Putin,” Trump said. “That’s very
tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate.”
“It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this,” Trump
said to Zelenskyy as the two leaders talked over each other.
The episode was just the latest instance of Trump's brazen moves to
shift long-held American policy positions in his first six weeks
back in office, portending even more uncertainty ahead for longtime
American allies and partners who have already felt pressed to
justify their place in Trump's eyes. It comes just weeks after Trump
floated a permanent relocation of Palestinians in Gaza and an
American takeover of the territory, and as he has doubled down on
plans to put stiff tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada starting
next week.
After the Oval Office dustup, Zelenskyy was asked to leave the White
House by top Trump advisers — scrapping plans for a lunch, a joint
press conference and the signing of the economic agreement, even as
the Ukrainian leader and his aides pushed for a “reset” on the
meeting.
Trump later told reporters he didn’t want to “embolden” the
Ukrainian leader if he didn’t want “peace” with Russia — flipping
what Ukraine had seen as an inducement for security guarantees into
a cudgel.
“You can’t embolden somebody who does not have the cards,” Trump
said.
After the disastrous encounter, Zelenskyy appeared on Fox News on
Friday evening and told Bret Baier that his public spat with Trump
and Vance was “not good for both sides.” But Zelenskyy said Trump —
who insists Putin is ready to end the three-year grinding war —
needs to understand that Ukraine can’t change its attitudes toward
Russia on a dime.
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine won’t enter peace talks with Russia
until it has security guarantees against another offensive.
“Everybody (is) afraid Putin will come back tomorrow,” Zelenskyy
said. “We want just and lasting peace.”
“It’s so sensitive for our people,” Zelenskyy said. “And they just
want to hear that America (is) on our side, that America will stay
with us. Not with Russia, with us. That’s it.”
Zelenskyy acknowledged that without U.S. support, his country’s
position would grow “difficult.”
After repeatedly declining opportunities to apologize to Trump,
Zelensky closed his Fox appearance with a sheepish expression of
remorse as he struggled with the reality of Trump's new direction in
Washington: “Sorry for this."
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