Friday White House Meeting Controversy
The shift in Zelensky’s rhetoric followed a contentious meeting at the White House on Friday, where Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of failing to show enough appreciation for years of American support.
The meeting, initially intended to strengthen ties, quickly devolved into a heated exchange. Zelensky said there was no way to negotiate peace because Putin would not honor it. He also argued that the US Presidents starting with Obama had not done enough to help the embattled Ukraine. Trump also reminded him in his first term he had unilaterally sent Javelin warplanes for Ukraine to use for protection at the Russian border.
Both Trump and Vance criticized Zelensky’s attitude and claimed he was not grateful for the over 150 billion dollars in US aid Ukraine has received.
Trump also insisted that it was counterproductive to bad-mouth Russian Leader Putin before approaching him for Peace talks.
