Donald Trump and JD Vance‘s Oval Office meeting with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went nothing like expected. As an outcome of the heated encounter, the U.S. President decided to pause aid for Ukraine after Zelensky left the meeting without signing the proposed minerals deal.
While talking about the blazing row, Vice President Vance issued a fresh set of criticism, accusing the Ukraine leader of “needling” with Trump.
On early Tuesday, Vance sat down with Fox News‘ Sean Hannity for an elaborate reflection on his White House meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky. He commented, “What I noticed is that for the first 25 or 30 minutes, he [Donald Trump] tried to sort of bend over backward, to be gracious and kind to Zelensky, even when Zelensky was kind of needling him.”
Vance further added that the meeting, which happened in front of a full room of reporters “really set Zelensky off,” when he answered a question asked by a Polish journalist. He accused the Ukrainian leader of “coming at him,” even though he was trying “diffuse the situation.”
“He showed a clear unwillingness to engage in the peace process that President Trump said is the policy,” Vance lamented to Hannity. The VP added, “That’s the real breakdown. I think Zelensky wasn’t yet there. And frankly, still isn’t there. But I think he’ll get there eventually, he has to.”
During the Fox News interview, the Republican Vice President confirmed that after leaving the White House on Friday, the Ukrainian officials made at least one attempt to restart the negotiations, but Donald Trump shut them down. He added that the door to talks deals is still open, but only if “Zelensky is willing to seriously talk peace.”
JD Vance:
“What President Trump has said clearly and consistently is of course the door is open so long as Zelensky is willing to seriously talk peace.”
— DK For Congress (@Back_2TheMiddle) March 4, 2025
The Vice President’s comments came after the POTUS paused U.S. aid to Ukraine. According to the Associated Press, a White House official conveyed that the United States was “pausing and reviewing” the aid process to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution.” However, the representative added that Mr. Trump continues to be focused on reaching a peace negotiation but wants his Ukrainian counterpart to be fully “committed” to the deal.
Meanwhile, after following the White House blow up, Zelensky met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, who also invited others leaders from Europe and Canada for talks. Speaking in the Commons, Starmer reiterated, “It is right that Europe do the heavy lifting to support peace on our continent, But to succeed, this effort must also have strong US backing.”
However, Donald Trump deemed his demand for U.S. guarantees as “showing weakness to the Kremlin.” He also slammed Zelensky for suggesting that a deal to end the war with Russia “is still very, very far away.” On Monday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social, “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer.”
BREAKING: President Trump just went NUCLEAR on Zelensky and Europe on Truth Social.
“This guy doesn’t want Peace and America will NOT put up with it for much longer!”
🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/4HSUslt7ot
— Cillian (@CilComLFC) March 3, 2025
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelensky, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. – probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?”
Meanwhile, at the White House, Donald Trump praised European countries for acting “very well.” He said, “We’re going to make deals with everybody to get this war (finished), including Europe and European nations. And they’ve acted very well. You know, they’re good people … they want to work it out.”
