Shouting Match Ensues at Meeting with Trump, Vance and Zelensky
On February 28, President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D Vance and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky met in the oval office to discuss American aid to Ukraine.
The meeting, which was originally set to be about discussing what types of aid the U.S would give to Ukraine, quickly devolved into a shouting match, with Trump and Vance holding the same positions and ganging up on Zelensky. At a time when Ukraine is currently at war with Russia, Zelensky was criticized and shamed for not wearing a suit in the Oval Office meeting.
In the meeting, Trump addressed the criticism that he and Putin share close ties, stating, “I’m not aligned with Putin. I’m not aligned with anybody…” He further criticized Zelensky, saying, “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.”
Vance attacked Zelensky, saying, “Have you said ‘thank you’ once this entire meeting? No. In this entire meeting, have you said ‘thank you’?”
At different points in the meeting Trump seemed to insinuate that Zelensky did not in fact want to end the war that has cost the lives of thousands of his country’s citizens. Trump accused Zelensky of not taking the war seriously and risking the start of World War III, saying, “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III.”
Despite Trump’s attempts to seem distanced from allying with Putin, he defended the Russian dictator near the end of the meeting, saying that Democrat officials had engaged in what he claimed to be a “phony witch hunt” of the dictator, and a “Democrat scam.”
The Oval Office meeting ended without concrete resolution, with Trump merely mentioning that the argumentative shouting match that had just taken place would “make great television.”
