Zelensky 'weakened his hand' post tense Trump exchange: Sean Spicer

Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's tense meeting with President Trump will undoubtedly hurt him in the war against Russia.

“It went off the rails quick,” Spicer, a NewsNation political contributor, said Friday, referring to a bilateral meeting between the two global leaders. “You don't come into somebody's house asking for something and then let it go off like this.”

Spicer, who served in Trump's first administration, attributed Zelensky’s demeanor in the Oval Office to a lack of “preparation” and understanding of “diplomacy.”

Trump met with Zelensky on Friday after calling his Ukrainian counterpart a “dictator without elections” last week, expecting to sign a deal that would include an exchange of security guarantees for critical minerals from Ukraine. Instead, the spat led the two to cancel their joint press conference.

During the meeting, Zelensky told Trump that promises of peace from Russian President Vladimir Putin can’t be trusted, noting a history of broken promises. Trump said Putin hasn’t broken agreements with him.

The president, with help from Vice President Vance, then suggested that the Ukrainian leader wasn't acting “at all grateful” for the aid given to Ukraine from the U.S. during the nation's three-year-long war with Russia.

At one point, Trump, raising his voice, said to Zelensky, “You’re not really in a good position right now.”

“You’re gambling with World War III,” he added.

Vance, who was also at the event, said it was time to try something different than what former President Biden did — which sparked a rebuttal from Zelensky.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, left, and US President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Vance said it was “disrespectful for Zelensky to come into the Oval Office, litigating in front of the American media.”

“Have you said thank you once?” he questioned the Ukrainian leader.

Following the shouting match, Zelensky was told to leave by the president and other senior officials.

Spicer said the interaction “doesn't bode well before an end to this conflict.”

“Zelensky has lost the upper hand that he might have had in the deal,” he said, adding that the Ukraine leader should have been more thankful to Trump and the support the U.S has given the country.

NewsNation's Kellie Meyer, Tanya Nouri and Kevin Bohne contributed to this story.

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