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The exchange early Friday afternoon, Feb. 28 marked a dramatic departure from traditional diplomatic decorum between the United States and foreign leaders.
During the heated exchange, Trump and Vance criticized Zelenskyy for what they perceived as a lack of gratitude for US support in Ukraine’s three-year-old war with Russia.
They pressed him to negotiate a peace deal on terms dictated by the American administration. As voices escalated and tensions flared, Trump issued a stark warning, threatening to withdraw support from Ukraine entirely if Zelenskyy did not comply with their demands.
"The problem is I've empowered you to be a tough guy. I don't think you'd be a tough guy without the US," Trump said to Zelenskyy. "You're not in good position right now. You don't have the cards."
Things became heated in the last 10 minutes of the 45-minute meeting after Vance interjected, accusing Zelenskyy of being “disrespectful” by addressing the American media during his visit and insisted that he express gratitude for Trump’s leadership.
The encounter stands as one of the most striking face-to-face public displays of discord between an American president and a foreign leader in modern history.
Trump added: "Your people are very brave, but you're either going to make a deal or we're out, and if we're out, you'll fight it out."
"People are dying … you're running low on soldiers."
The meeting had been set up for the purpose of signing a deal that would allow US access to rare minerals in Ukraine.
A scheduled press conference between Zelenskyy and Trump was canceled.
Trump later posted on Truth Social that he and Zelenskyy had a “very meaningful meeting” but that he had determined that the Ukrainian leader “is not ready for Peace if America is involved," and added that Zelensky “can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
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