Zelenskyy's White House meeting with Trump and Vance unravels into a heated clash
Trump later said the Ukrainian president had “disrespected” the U.S., while Zelenskyy said he didn’t think he owed his American counterpart an apology.
WASHINGTON — A White House meeting that was intended to kick off negotiations on a deal over Ukraine’s rare earth minerals devolved Friday into a remarkable confrontation, with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance chastising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and telling him he wasn’t grateful enough to the United States.
The Oval Office shouting match has for now shattered hopes for the minerals deal, which Trump and his allies had presented as an important step forward for Ukraine on the road to peace with Russia more than three years after the war began.
"He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social website after the meeting ended. "He can come back when he is ready for Peace."
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Trump dug in further hours later, telling reporters that Zelenskyy “overplayed his hand” and accusing the Ukrainian president of “looking to go on and fight, fight, fight.”
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