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During the Oval Office meeting, President Trump told the Ukrainian leader: “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out.”
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Trump, Zelensky and Vance Argue Over Ukraine War
President Trump and Vice President JD Vance scolded President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine during a meeting in the Oval Office on Friday, claiming he was not grateful enough for U.S. aid.
“Do you disagree that you’ve had problems bringing people into your military?” “We have problems.” “And do you think that it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?” “A lot of questions. Let’s start from the beginning.” “Sure.” “First of all, during the war, everybody has problems, even you. But you have nice ocean and don’t feel now, but you will feel it in the future. God bless —” “You don’t know that.” “God bless you. God bless you. You do not have a war.” “Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.” “I’m not telling you —” “Because you’re in no position to dictate that.” “Remember —” “You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel. We’re going to feel very good. We’re going to feel very good and very strong.” “You will feel influenced.” “You’re right now, not in a very good position. You’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position. And he happens to be right —” “From the very beginning of the war — “You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now.” “With us., you start having cards. “We’re not playing cards.” “Right now, you don’t. You’re playing cards. You’re playing cards. You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III. You’re gambling with World War III. And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country — this country — that’s backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have.” “Have you said, ‘thank you’ once this entire meeting? No — in this entire meeting, have you said, ‘thank you?’ You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October. Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who’s trying to save your country.” “Please, you think that if you will speak very loudly about the war —” “He’s not speaking loudly. He’s not speaking loudly. Your country is in big trouble. Wait a minute. No, no. You’ve done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble.”
- Feb. 28, 2025, 4:00 p.m. ET
A meeting between President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Friday turned into an angry shouting match at the Oval Office. At times cross talk made some comments difficult to understand. Here are key excerpts from the heated exchange.
Trump (responding to a reporter): I’m not aligned with Putin. I’m not aligned with anybody. I’m aligned with the United States of America. And for the good of the world. I’m aligned with the world. And I want to get this thing over with. You see the hatred he’s got for Putin. It’s very tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate. He’s got tremendous hatred. And I understand that. But I can tell you the other side isn’t exactly in love with him either.
So it’s not a question of alignment. I’m aligned with the world. I want to get the thing set. I’m aligned with Europe. I want to see if we can get this thing done. You want me to be tough? I can be tougher than any human being you’ve ever seen. I’d be so tough. But you’re never going to get a deal that way. So that’s the way it goes.
Vice President JD Vance: I will respond to this. So look, for four years in the United States of America, we had a president who stood up at press conferences and talked tough about Vladimir Putin. And then Putin invaded Ukraine and destroyed a significant chunk of the country. The path to peace and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy. We tried the pathway of Joe Biden, of thumping our chest and pretending that the president of the United States’ words mattered more than the president of the United States’ actions.
What makes America a good country is America engaging in diplomacy. That’s what President Trump is doing.
Zelensky: Yeah. OK. He occupied it, our parts. Big parts of Ukraine. Part of east and Crimea. So he occupied it on 2014. So during a lot of years, I’m not speaking about just Biden. But those times was Obama, then President Obama, then President Trump, then President Biden, now the President Trump. And God bless: Now President Trump will stop him. But during 2014, nobody stopped him. He just occupied and took. He killed people.
