How the Trump, Zelensky meeting went off the rails

Efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine were left in tatters following President Trump’s confrontational White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which erupted into one of the most remarkable Oval Office scenes in years.

Zelensky arrived at the White House on Friday with the hopes of signing a critical minerals deal with the U.S. and securing assurances from Trump as he seeks to broker peace between Kyiv and Moscow. But negotiations ended shortly after they started, with Trump calling Zelensky “disrespectful” and saying he was “not ready for peace.”

It was the culmination of roughly a month of growing tensions between the Trump administration and Zelensky, who had frustrated White House officials with some of his rhetoric and actions.

Trump welcomed Zelensky to the Oval Office cordially enough, praising the bravery of Ukrainian soldiers and insisting he wanted to see peace. But the meeting soon devolved into shouting and finger-pointing, with the president and Vice President Vance accusing Zelensky of being ungrateful and of having little leverage.

The moment the meeting went from cordial to off the rails occurred when Vance said Trump was engaging in diplomacy and Zelensky questioned “what kind of diplomacy, JD, are you speaking about?” noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin has broken ceasefires and killed Ukrainians. As Zelensky spoke, he leaned over and gestured toward Vance with his hands.

“I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that's going to end the destruction of your country,” Vance said as Zelensky attempted to interrupt. “Mr. President, Mr. President, with respect, I think it's disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.”

That prompted Zelensky to ask Vance, who has a long-standing history of questioning U.S. aid to Ukraine, if he had ever been to his country.

“Had you ever been to Ukraine? Did you see the problems we have?” Zelensky asked, to which Vance responded that he had seen “the stories.”

When Zelensky then tried to suggest the U.S. had not yet felt the full ramifications from the war, he set off Trump.

“You don’t know that. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel,” Trump said. “You’re in no position to dictate that.”

“You don't have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards,” Trump said, raising his voice. “You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country, that has backed you.”

“Have you said thank you once in this entire meeting?” Vance said, to which Zelensky said “a lot of times.”

“You think that if you will speak very loudly about the war —” Zelensky began saying but Trump cut him off.

“He’s not speaking loudly. … Your country’s in big trouble. You’re not winning this. You have a damn good chance of coming out OK because of us,” Trump said.

A White House official told The Hill that after the spat, Trump and Zelensky went into separate rooms and the Ukrainians wanted the talks to continue, asking to reset.

But Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz ultimately told them they had to leave the White House grounds, which Trump had ordered, and they suggested Zelensky return when he’s ready for peace. Trump felt disrespected by Zelensky’s demeanor and comments during the meeting, telling aides he was shrugging and rolling his eyes, the official said.

The two leaders had been scheduled to hold a joint press conference and sign a deal giving the U.S. access to Ukraine’s critical minerals supply later in the day, but it was canceled.

A short time after reporters left the Oval Office, Zelensky’s SUV pulled up to the West Wing, an indication he was departing sooner than expected. He left shortly after.

White House officials embraced the way the day had gone. The official White House social media account posted a video of Zelensky’s SUV leaving the premises. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump and Vance were “standing up for the American people.”

Rubio, who sat expressionless on and sunken into a couch in the Oval Office as the meeting devolved into chaos, posted on the social platform X that Trump was “standing up for America in a way that no President has ever had the courage to do before.”

The rift between Trump and Zelensky has been steadily brewing for some time.

Zelensky was caught in the middle of Trump’s first impeachment proceedings in 2019, when Democrats accused Trump of withholding lethal aid for Ukraine while he pressed Zelensky to investigate the Biden family.

Zelensky was just elected president when Trump called him in July 2019 about information on former President Biden’s son Hunter Biden and his business dealings in Ukraine, which led to the accusations that he solicited foreign interference in the 2020 race.

While campaigning for president last year, Trump repeatedly expressed skepticism about continued U.S. support for Ukraine, which had become the foundation of the Biden administration’s foreign policy. Trump allies in Congress had increasingly moved away from backing support for Ukraine throughout the election, including Vance.

The Trump team’s frustrations with Zelensky bubbled up again in recent weeks.

Trump accused Zelensky of being rude to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a recent trip to Kyiv. Trump officials sought to get the Ukrainian leader to sign onto a critical minerals deal on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, which Zelensky declined to do.

Trump got increasingly personal in recent weeks, calling Zelensky a “dictator without elections” and claiming Ukraine was to blame for the start of the war. Zelensky responded to those claims by saying Trump lived in a “disinformation space” and was echoing Russian talking points.

On the day of the meeting, Trump greeted Zelensky at the White House by commenting on his clothing — the Ukrainian president has always worn a black long-sleeve shirt since his country has been at war. When asked by the press if the meeting was going to be good, Trump gave a thumbs-up before the two leaders went inside the White House.

Once they were inside the Oval, Trump remarked, “I do like your clothing,” but Zelensky later seemed frustrated when a pro-Trump reporter in the room questioned Zelensky on why he doesn’t wear a suit and said “a lot of Americans” have an issue with him not doing so.

Friday’s flare-up elicited a gleeful response from Moscow. Monday marked three years since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine after amassing troops on the border and demanding a ban on Ukraine ever joining NATO. The invasion took place nearly a decade after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

“The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office. And @realDonaldTrump is right: The Kiev regime is ‘gambling with WWIII,’” Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of the secretary council of the Russian federation, said on X.

Most of the Republican Party defended Trump’s conduct, hailing the president as projecting strength and protecting American interests.

“Most Americans witnessing what they saw today would not want Zelensky to be their business partner, including me, and I've been to Ukraine nine times since the war started,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close Trump ally, on Fox News. “I've never been more proud of Trump for showing the American people and the world, you don't trifle with this man.”

Graham later told reporters at the White House that he spoke with Zelensky ahead of the White House meeting and warned him, “Don't take the bait,” suggesting he predicted a tense meeting.

Friday’s blowup was the exact type of situation European leaders hoped to avoid when they visited the White House earlier in the week.

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer appealed to Trump this week by praising him as a negotiator, while insisting any peace deal required assurances that would prevent future Russian aggression.

The French president physically embraced Trump as they sat side by side in the Oval Office, an image that hearkened to their intense handshakes of Trump’s first term. Starmer brought with him an invitation for a historic second state visit to the United Kingdom, signed by King Charles.

But both men tried to impress upon Trump the fact that Europe had contributed plenty to aid Ukraine, as well as the importance of a lasting peace agreement.

Friday’s Oval Office breakdown may leave those same European leaders scrambling over what to do next.

"There is an aggressor: Russia. There is a victim: Ukraine. We were right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago—and to keep doing so," Macron said in a statement on X following the meeting.

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