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President Trump and Vice President JD Vance loudly berated President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Friday in an explosive televised shouting match unlike any seen in the Oval Office between an American president and foreign leader in modern times.<\/p>\n
Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance castigated Mr. Zelensky for not being grateful enough for U.S. support in its war with Russia and sought to strong-arm him into making a peace deal on whatever terms the Americans dictate. With voices raised and tempers flaring, Mr. Trump threatened to abandon Ukraine altogether if Mr. Zelensky did not go along.<\/p>\n
Talking over the Ukrainian leader, Mr. Vance told Mr. Zelensky that it was \u201cdisrespectful\u201d for him to come to the Oval Office and make his case in front of the American news media and demanded that he thank Mr. Trump for his leadership. Mr. Trump jumped in and told the Ukrainian leader, \u201cYou\u2019re not really in a good position right now\u201d and that \u201cyou\u2019re gambling with World War III.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re either going make a deal or we\u2019re out,\u201d Mr. Trump added. \u201cAnd if we\u2019re out, you\u2019ll fight it out and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be pretty.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The exchange in front of television cameras was one of the most dramatic moments ever to play out in public in the Oval Office and underscored the radical break between the United States and Ukraine since Mr. Trump took office. Mr. Trump has effectively sided with Russia while falsely blaming Ukraine for starting the war and calling Mr. Zelensky a \u201cdictator.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Mr. Zelensky\u2019s hurriedly arranged visit to Washington on Friday was meant to smooth over the rift and seal an agreement demanded by Mr. Trump in which Ukraine would hand over many billions of dollars worth of mineral rights to repay military aid provided by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Congress over the three years since Russia\u2019s full-fledged invasion in 2022.<\/p>\n
Mr. Trump seemed ready to make nice with Mr. Zelensky by telling reporters on Thursday that he did not remember the dictator comment and expressing respect for the Ukrainian leader. He welcomed Mr. Zelensky at the door of the West Wing on Friday morning with an honor guard and they shook hands politely but without evident warmth.<\/p>\n
The encounter, though, quickly turned hostile shortly after they sat down in the Oval Office with journalists present. Mr. Zelensky, dressed in his usual dark, long-sleeved shirt, sought to explain the history of the war with Russia, noting that it went back to 2014 when Moscow first seized Crimea and occupied territory in eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
But Mr. Vance sharply interrupted and began assailing Mr. Zelensky. \u201cI think its disrespectful for your to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate in front of the American media,\u201d he lectured. \u201cYou should be thanking the president.\u201d <\/p>\n
He accused Mr. Zelensky of mounting a \u201cpropaganda tour\u201d in the United States. \u201cDo you think it\u2019s respectful to come to the Oval Office and attack the administration that\u2019s trying to prevent the destruction of your country?\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite Mr. Trump\u2019s claim last week, it was Russia that first attacked Ukraine in 2014 and then mounted a full-scale invasion in 2022. Although Ukrainian elections have been suspended for the past three years under martial law, Mr. Zelensky became president on the back of a landslide election victory in 2019. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, by contrast, is an actual dictator whose elections have been widely dismissed as frauds and who faces an international arrest warrant for war crimes.<\/p>\n
Mr. Trump had seemed to be trying to put his rift with Mr. Zelensky to the side on Thursday before their meeting at the White House, brushing off a question about whether he still considers the Ukrainian leader a dictator.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I say that?\u201d Mr. Trump asked. \u201cI can\u2019t believe I said that. Next question.\u201d<\/p>\n
At a later news conference with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, Mr. Trump did not respond to a question about whether he owed Mr. Zelensky an apology for calling him a dictator. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have a very good meeting,\u201d he said. \u201cI have a lot of respect for him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
His sharp language last week about Mr. Zelensky contrasted with his assessment of Mr. Putin, whom he has only praised<\/a> since winning a second term. Just this week, the president called Mr. Putin \u201ca very smart guy\u201d and \u201ca very cunning person.\u201d<\/a> He said that he believes that Mr. Putin really wants peace and added on Thursday that \u201che\u2019ll keep his word\u201d<\/a> if a deal is reached, despite multiple Russian violations of agreements in the past.<\/p>\n While he has spoken with Mr. Putin by telephone, Mr. Trump has given little sense of how he expects to negotiate either a cease-fire or an enduring peace agreement. During last year\u2019s campaign, he promised to end the war within 24 hours and to do so even before his inauguration, neither of which he actually did<\/a>.<\/p>\n During Thursday\u2019s news conference with Mr. Starmer, Mr. Trump expressed a mix of optimism and fatalism about his chances of making peace. \u201cI think it\u2019s going to happen, hopefully quickly,\u201d he said. \u201cIf it doesn\u2019t happen quickly, it may not happen at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Starmer and other European leaders have offered to contribute troops to a multinational peacekeeping force on the ground in Ukraine after the fighting halts. But Mr. Trump resisted pressure to commit U.S. forces to help, even without ground troops, or to offer security guarantees to Ukraine against renewed Russian aggression.<\/p>\n Since taking office, Mr. Trump has demanded that Ukraine turn over some of its natural resources as payback for military aid provided under President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to defend itself against Russia. While Mr. Trump has falsely claimed that the United States has contributed $350 billion and Europe only $100 billion, in fact, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Europe has allocated $138 billion compared with $119 billion from the United States.<\/p>\n Under a draft of the rare minerals agreement reviewed by The New York Times, Ukraine would contribute half of its revenues from the future monetization of natural resources, including critical minerals, oil and gas. Mr. Trump characterized the deal on Thursday as an economic development boon. \u201cIt\u2019ll be good for both countries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n