Trump and Vance’s Oval Office Clash With Zelensky Devolves Into Diplomacy Debacle

From the moment Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky walked toward President Donald Trump outside of the White House on Friday, the mood was tense. After a brief “How are you,” Trump immediately commented on what Zelensky, who was donning black pants and a matching military shirt, was wearing.

“Oh, you’re all dressed up,” Trump said sarcastically as the two leaders shook hands.

Whatever cordialness the pair had previously maintained quickly devolved over the next couple of hours in an Oval Office meeting that further strained relations between Trump and Vice President JD Vance and Zelensky into further disarray.

The government heads, along with some foreign policy staffers and reporters, were meeting to discuss a new agreement on rare earth minerals. Upstairs in the East Room, the White House staff had set up a long wooden table for the leaders to sign—but they never got there.

The beginning of the end happened when, around 40 minutes into the conversation, Vance, who hadn’t spoken much until then, began to defend his boss’ handling of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

“The path to peace and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy,” the vice president said toward Zelensky. In a frustrated response, Zelensky outlined the ceasefires Russia had broken in the past, going back a decade. “What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about?” he asked. “I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country,” Vance said back, sitting on a sofa with Trump to his right in a chair.

“I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media,” he continued, one of multiple times he gestured to reporters in the room. The group of pool reporters in the Oval Office was hand-picked by the Trump administration, their latest move in restricting which media outlets have close access to the president. “You should be thanking the president,” Vance said.

The vice president and Zelensky continued their back and forth before Trump interjected—leading to an increasingly loud overlapping of voices in the Oval Office as people reportedly watched on in disbelief. “You don’t have the cards right now, with us you start having cards” Trump said, chastising the Ukrainian president for not being more thankful to the United States, and him personally, for sending aid. “I’m not playing cards,” Zelensky responded. “I’m a president in war.”

Vance then went in again, also accusing Zelensky of not being thankful enough.

“Please, you think if you will speak very loudly about the war—” Zelensky began, before Trump cut him off, saying, “he’s not speaking loudly.”

What came next sounded more like one of Trump’s rallies on the campaign trail and less like a meeting to mitigate any future harm in a war that has already killed or wounded roughly one million Russians and Ukrainians.

At one point, a journalist asked what would happen if Russian President Vladimir Putin broke a ceasefire deal agreed upon by Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. “What if anything, what if a bomb drops on your head right now,” Trump responded. In another moment, Trump began rambling about a Hunter Biden–Joe Biden–Hillary Clinton–Adam Schiff “witch hunt” and “scam” against himself and Putin as Zelensky listened on, visibly confused and furrowing his brow.

In addition to reprimanding Zelensky for not being thankful or “nice” enough, the president also claimed he wasn’t a “tough guy,” a charge that uniquely highlighted Friday’s show of masculinity by Trump and Vance.

“The problem is,” Trump began, “I’ve empowered you to be a tough guy, and I don’t think you’d be a tough guy without the United States.”

“And your people are very brave,” he said. Zelensky agreed to that part. “But,” Trump continued, “you’re either going to make a deal or we’re out, and if we’re out, you’ll fight it out. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.”

The meeting on Friday comes after Trump previously called Zelensky a dictator, and the Ukrainian president claimed that Trump is living in a Russian “disinformation bubble.” (When Trump was asked later about referring to Zelensky as a “dictator,” he said, “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that.)

After the men eventually left the conversation, with no agreement signed and relations tenser than before, Trump unilaterally decided that Zelensky was “not in a place to negotiate,” according to a White House official, and directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz to deliver a message to the Ukrainians in the White House: It was time for Zelensky to leave.

In the hours following, leaders from across Europe defended Zelensky, with French President Emmanuel Macron distinguishing between who he called the “aggressor,” Russia, and the “victim, Ukraine. Many Republican leaders, meanwhile, rallied behind Trump. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina—who has been one of the most vocal Republicans in support of Ukraine and who posed for a picture with Zelensky and fellow congress members before the Oval Office meeting—quickly changed his tune, telling reporters later on Friday, “I have never been more proud of the president. I was very proud of J.D. Vance standing up for our country.”

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Later on Friday, Zelensky spoke with Fox News’ Bret Baier, thanking Trump, Congress, and the American people for aiding Ukraine’s efforts against Russia. “You helped us a lot. From the very beginning, during three years of full-scale invasion, you helped us to survive,” he said.

“We are thankful and sorry for this,” Zelensky continued, mentioning the meeting, “I mean this, we wanted very much to have strong relations.” He stopped short, though, of saying sorry directly to Trump when Baier asked him if he owed Trump an apology. When Baier asked if Zelensky believed that his relationship with Trump could be salvaged, the Ukrainian leader responded, “Yes, of course.”

According to CNN, Trump watched the interview on his presidential aircraft.