Video: Zelenskyy Leaves White House Early After Being Booted by Trump, Despite Behind-the-Scenes 'Begging'
President Donald Trump has cut short talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he and and Vice President J.D. Vance berated the Ukraine’s leader in the Oval Office.
The breakdown of negotiations come at a pivotal and precarious moment for Ukraine as Zelenskyy sought security guarantees from the U.S. and Trump’s administration seeks to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Zelenskyy and his delegation were told to leave the White House early after the testy meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, according to a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly.
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…— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) February 28, 2025
Trump suggested the deal was a condition for future support for Ukraine.
The landmark economic agreement aimed at financing the reconstruction of war-damaged Ukraine and would have closely tied the two countries together for years to come.
Zelenskyy left the White House after tempers flared during his meeting with Trump.
Zelenskyy walked briskly to his armored vehicle and quickly climbed in, escorted by a protocol officer who saw him off.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy departs the White House. pic.twitter.com/OK2TIOzLZg
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 28, 2025
A planned news conference and ceremony to sign a U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal were canceled.
Posting on social media platform X, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer reacted to the fallout of the tense meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The New York Democrat pledged his party would “never stop fighting for freedom and democracy.”
The rapid fallout from the meeting showed just how politically divided Washington is on continuing to support Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion. Just Friday morning, Zelenskky had met with a bipartisan group of senators, and several Republicans in attendance had left praising the deal he had been readying to sign with Trump.
“This is a huge step forward in securing mutual prosperity and peace for Americans and Ukrainians,” Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, had said in a statement shortly before Trump and Zelenskky’s Oval Office meeting.
Instead, the meeting ended with Trump cutting off talks with Zelenskyy.
The White House communications team quickly clipped videos of the exchange and shared them on social media. Several Trump aides did so as well.
“President Trump and Vice President Vance will always stand for America and those who respect our position in the world. America will never be taken advantage of,” said Margo Martin, a special assistant to the president who shared one of the videos.
“Thank you @POTUS for standing up not only for America, but for the American warfighter,” the Defense Department’s rapid response account posted on X.
The last 10 minutes of the nearly 45-minute engagement turned into a tense back and forth between Trump, Vance, and Zelenskyy — who had urged skepticism about Russia’s commitment to diplomacy, citing Moscow’s years of broken commitments on the global stage.
It began with Vance telling Zelenskyy, “Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.”
Zelensky tried to object, prompting Trump to eventually raise his voice and say, “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people.”
“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 say they should have,” Trump said.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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