Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s high-profile White House visit got suddenly heated on Friday when, during a joint Oval Office appearance, President Donald Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance openly berated Zelenskyy in front of the entire press corps. Afterward, Trump announced that there would be no peace deal because Zelenskyy had “disrespected the United States.” Below are live updates on what went down and what it means.
Germany’s new leader on Friday after the Oval Office incident:
And if you don’t speak French, this is a similar statement from Macron:
And the EU’s foreign policy chief:
And Graham has called for Zelenskyy to apologize or resign.
Another former top Russia hawk had a front row seat for the drama, and he says he’s also so proud of Trump:
Meanwhile, Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Roger Wicker may be distancing himself from the whole thing:
That’s what the Atlantic’s David Frum thinks Trump and Vance just did for all the world to see:
No, the meeting did not go badly for Ukraine. It exposed in the most undeniable, unequivocal way possible the pro-Putin commitments of the president and vice president. That was information Americans and allies needed to have clear before them.
Phony friendliness and behind-the-scenes treachery from Trump and Vance would have been much more dangerous to the cause of freedom in Ukraine than the self-exposure by both men.
How Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. reacted as it played out:
There is no confirmation of that yet — and there may never be. But considering the prepared-seeming nature of Vance’s remarks, and the speed with which the White House began to spin the confrontation as a win, it certainly seems likely Trump and his team planned to get in Zelenskyy’s face, somehow.
Also:
Putin special envoy Kirill Dmitriev called the confrontation “historic.”
Also, Russian state media was there:
Via Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich:
WH OFFICIALS TELL FOX: -TRUMP KICKED OUT ZELENSKYY
– HE DID NOT WALK OFF ON HIS OWN -RARE MINERALS DEAL WAS NOT SIGNED.
– WH SAYS “UKRAINANS WERE BEGGING TO RESET” BUT RUBIO AND WALTZ INFORMED THEM ZELENSKYY NEEDS TO LEAVE WHITE HOUSE GROUNDS, RETURN WHEN HE’S READY FOR PEACE
– THE PRESIDENT AND US OFFICIALS FELT DISRESPECTED BY ZELENSKYY’S RHETORIC AND DEMEANOR
– CITED THAT HE WAS “SHRUGGING AND ROLLING HIS EYES” DURING THE CONVERSATION
**WHEN I WENT TO UPPER PRESS TO ASK WHAT WAS GOING ON, THE LUNCH THAT TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY WERE SUPPOSED TO DINE ON AND TALK OVER WAS SITTING IN THE HALLWAY. I’M TOLD WHITE HOUSE PRESS OFFICE STAFFERS WILL BE EATING IT.
The acrimonious meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy prompted strong but mixed reactions across the political spectrum.
House GOP leader Steve Scalise praised Trump, but did not specifically reference the standoff:
Michael McFaul, the former U.S. ambassador to Russia under President Barack Obama, denounced the encounter on social media:
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, shared a clip of the tense exchange, writing, “Our leaders acting like ventriloquist dummies for Putin. Disgusting.” Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said, “Trump and Vance are doing Putin’s dirty work.”
House Republican Don Bacon, who backs support for Ukraine, called it “a bad day for America’s foreign policy”:
Piers Morgan, the conservative British TV anchor and former Trump ally, wrote, “The only winner from today’s Oval Office debacle is Vladimir Putin… and anyone who thinks that is a good thing for the world is stunningly deluded.”
The White House is spinning up a storm, however, praising the fight as Trump standing up for Americans:
Real America’s Voice chief White House correspondent Brian Glenn really outdid himself in joining the attack on the Ukrainian president (who promptly referred to a suit as a “costume”):
In case you were wondering how somebody like that got into the White House press pool, the Washington Post’s Drew Harwell notes that he’s Marjorie Taylor Greene’s boyfriend:
The reporter who asked Zelensky if he owned a suit, Brian Glenn, is from the pro-Trump network Real America’s Voice and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s boyfriend. He got one of the rare Oval Office interviewer spots after the White House blocked the Associated Press
A White House official told RealClearPolitics that Trump asked him to leave.
And yes, the official press conference is cancelled, as well.
In a Truth Social message, the president tried to scold Zelenskyy, indicating that the Ukrainian leader’s behavior in the Oval Office “disrespected the Unites States” and was thus some kind of deal-breaker:
We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure. It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.
Watch the full uninterrupted exchange:
A video of the entire Oval Office event, before and after that, is here.
Which suggests the confrontation was perhaps intentional:
Trump also got heated with a reporter who asked about Russia breaking a ceasefire — and he made all kinds of weird comments, bringing up Hunter Biden at length:
A flurry of press-pool reports capture a sudden standoff between the leaders:
