The White House was taken aback by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s behavior during his meeting with US President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in the Oval Office on Friday, NBC News has reported, citing an anonymous source.
After several weeks of negotiations and deliberations, Zelensky was expected to finalize an agreement granting the US rights to his country’s natural resources. However, the meeting seemed to have gone off script and devolved into a heated exchange. The Ukrainian leader’s stay at the White House was cut short, while the accord was left unsigned.
In an article on Saturday, NBC News, citing unnamed sources, reported that “there was no predetermined strategy” for an outright confrontation. However, Vance felt compelled to counter Zelensky’s “needlessly provocative” attitude. Sources said no one had “expected [Zelensky] to walk in there and act like such a petulant child,” characterizing the Ukrainian leader’s demeanor as “entitled.”
The conversation grew increasingly heated as Trump told Zelensky he had to negotiate peace with Russia, to which the Ukrainian leader responded by digging in his heels and insisting that the US should continue supporting his country.
The US head of state accused his visitor of ungratefulness, arguing that Kiev does not “have the cards,” and would have lost to Russia if not for the generous US assistance provided. Vance soon joined the fiery exchange, also accusing Zelensky of failing to show enough respect to the US.
In a post on X later on Friday, Fox News journalist Jacqui Heinrich claimed that “Trump kicked out Zelenskyy – he did not walk off on his own.”
She further quoted an unnamed member of the White House staff as claiming that the Ukrainian delegation was “begging to reset but [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio and [National Security Advisor Mike] Waltz informed them Zelenskyy needs to leave [the] White House grounds.”
Commenting on the altercation on his Truth Social platform, Trump observed that the Ukrainian leader had demonstrated that he “is not ready for peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations.”
In an interview with CNN on Friday, Secretary of State Rubio advised Zelensky to apologize “for wasting our time.. [and] turning this thing into the fiasco for him that it became.”
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian leader himself told Fox News that he did not feel he owed Trump and Vance an apology, explaining that he was “not sure we did anything bad.”
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