In an extraordinary meeting at the White House, Trump berated the Ukrainian leader Zelenskyy and yelled at him that he was ‘gambling with World War III.’
VP Vance also bullied Zelenskyy, accusing him of not ‘respecting’ everything the US had ‘already done’ for his country.
At one point, Trump even shoved the foreign leader.
“You’re right now, not really in a very good position. You’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position,” Trump told the Ukrainian president. “You don’t have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards.”
“I’m not playing cards,” Zelensky replied.
Later, Trump threatened him “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out. If we’re out, you’ll fight it out. I don’t think it will be pretty.”
Sen. Jack Reed, of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the meeting “a political ambush” and “a shameful failure of American leadership” in a statement. The Rhode Island Democrat said that “today’s cruel and callous display does great harm to U.S. standing in the world. Trump and Vance are communicating to the world that the United States is not to be trusted. Adversaries and allies alike will take note.”
In response, European leaders have pledged to stand by Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters: “We all were right to have helped Ukraine and sanctioned Russia three years ago, and to continue to do so.”
“There’s an aggressor, which is Russia, and a people attacked, which is Ukraine,” he said.