The signing of a key minerals agreement with Ukraine and a scheduled news conference Friday by President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were abruptly canceled and the Ukrainian leader’s visit cut short after an Oval Office meeting that included Vice President JD Vance descended into insults and chaos.
Afterward, Ukrainians left the Oval Office to head to a “separated room,” while the U.S. team stayed in the Oval Office, a White House official said. While the Ukrainians were waiting in the other room, national security adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio told them to leave.
The contentious meeting exposed severe rifts between the U.S. and Ukraine, upended the scheduled signing of a rare minerals deal between the two countries as Mr. Trump pressures Ukraine to agree to end the war Russia began.
The Oval Office meeting with Trump, Vance and Zelenskyy grew contentious, as Mr. Trump threatened Zelenskyy to make a deal with Russia, or “we’re out,” and Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of being “disrespectful.”
Vance said during the course of the meeting that the world has reached this point in part because of the Biden administration’s actions, and said it was time for diplomacy.
“What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about,” Zelenskyy asked Vance, suggesting that Russia has broken its promises before in prior agreements.
Vance retorted that it’s “disrespectful” for Zelenskyy to try to “litigate” his case in front of the American media.
“You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict,” Vance told Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy asked Vance if he’d ever been to Ukraine.
Vance said he’s watched videos of what’s happened in Ukraine, accusing Zelenskyy of bringing people on a “propaganda tour” when they visit Ukraine.
“Do you think that it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?” Vance asked.
Zelenskyy, noting that for now, the U.S. is separated from the fighting by an ocean, said of the war, “You don’t feel it now, but you’ll feel it in the future.”
“You don’t know that,” Mr. Trump retorted. “You don’t know that. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re gonna feel, because you’re in no position to dictate that. You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel. We’re going to feel very good.”
“You don’t have the cards right now,” Mr. Trump said, as Zelenskyy continued to interject and disagree. “With us, you start having cards. Right now, you don’t have your playing cards, your playing cards — you’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. “You’re gambling with World War III. You’re gambling with World War III.”
“Have you said ‘thank you’ once, this entire meeting? No, in this entire meeting, have you said ‘thank you,'” Vance said.
Zelenskyy kept a measured tone throughout the entire exchange, even as Mr. Trump and Vance at times raised their voices.
“Please,” Zelenskyy said. “You think that if you will speak very loudly about the war—”
Mr. Trump cut off Zelenskyy and said his country is in “big trouble” but “you have a damn good chance of coming out okay because of us.”
Zelenskyy said his country has stayed strong from the beginning of the war, and Ukrainians are thankful.
“It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this,” Mr. Trump said, as Vance again chided Zelenskyy about saying “thank you.”
Mr. Trump said it’s “good” for the American people to see what’s going on.
“You have to be thankful,” Mr. Trump said. “You don’t have the cards. You’re buried there, people are dying, you’re running low on soldiers.”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine wants the war to end but must have security assurances along with any sort of ceasefire agreement.
Amid the chaos, a reporter asked — what if Russia violates a ceasefire?
“What if anything?” Mr. Trump responded. “What if a bomb drops on your head right now? Okay?”
Earlier in their meeting, before it grew heated, Zelenskyy said negotiations can’t only entail talk of a ceasefire, as Mr. Trump pushes for a ceasefire agreement without security assurances included.
“Just ceasefire will never work,” Zelenskyy said, adding that “25 times” Putin “broke his own signature,” or violated his word on agreements.
“But he never broke to me,” Mr. Trump said.
A White House official said that the Ukrainians “have been difficult to negotiate with [for] quite some time,” and the Oval Office argument was “the tipping point.” The minerals deal would have been a “first step to a lasting peace,” but Zelenskyy “overplayed his cards.”
The meeting went so poorly that after it ended, Mr. Trump continued to criticize Zelenskyy on social media, saying he is “not ready for peace.”
“We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure. It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
Zelenskyy was spotted leaving the White House at 1:41 p.m.
What to know about Zelenskyy’s White House visit
Mr. Trump mentioned earlier this week that the U.S. had reached a deal with Zelenskyy on a broad framework for sharing Ukraine’s mineral resources, and that the Ukrainian leader was coming to the White House because he “would like to sign it together with me.” Negotiations over the minerals continued despite public tension between the two leaders in recent days. Mr. Trump appeared to blame Ukraine for the war Russia started and labeled Zelenskyy a “dictator,” while declining to say the same of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
One Ukrainian official told CBS News Kyiv hopes the signing of the agreement would ensure the continued flow of security support that Ukraine needs. Mr. Trump said Thursday the deal would help pay back American taxpayers for supporting Ukraine over the past three years.
In a post on X Wednesday, Zelenskyy wrote, “Peace and security guarantees are the key to ensuring that Russia can no longer destroy the lives of other nations.” He added, “For me and for all of us in the world, it’s important that U.S. support is not stopped. Strength is needed on the path to peace.”
Mr. Trump spoke with Putin earlier this month and said the Russian leader wants an end to the war. Last week, the president said he trusts Russia to negotiate in good faith, as top Trump administration officials met with Russian negotiators in Saudi Arabia without a Ukrainian representative. The president on Thursday said he believes Putin would comply with any peace agreement reached.
“I don’t believe he’s going to violate his word,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump last week called Zelenskyy a “dictator,” referring to the fact that the Ukrainian leader’s five-year term expired last year, and no new election has been held. Ukraine has been under martial law since soon after the war started in 2022, and the country’s constitution bans elections during martial law. On Monday, during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr. Trump was asked whether he views Putin as a dictator, since he called Zelenskyy one.
“I don’t use those words lightly, I think that we’re going to see how it all works out,” he replied. “Let’s see what happens.”
Mr. Trump has even cast blame on Kyiv for being invaded by Russia.
“You should have never started it, you could have made a deal,” Mr. Trump said of Ukraine last week.
Top Trump administration officials have also been reluctant to criticize Putin. National security adviser Mike Waltz didn’t answer directly when a reporter asked him if Mr. Trump views Putin as a dictator. He also sidestepped a question about who bears more responsibility for the war, Russia or Ukraine.
Referring to Mr. Trump, Waltz replied, “His goal here is to bring this war to an end, period.”
The president frequently says the war never would have started if he had been president, rather than Joe Biden. On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump vowed he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine before even taking office.
“Before I even arrive at the Oval Office, shortly after we win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled,” Mr. Trump said at a June rally. “I will get it settled before I even become president.”
But after winning the election, Mr. Trump suggested that reaching peace between Russia and Ukraine might be more difficult than forging peace in the Middle East.
“I think actually more difficult is going to be the Russia-Ukraine situation,” Mr. Trump said in December. “I see that as more difficult.”
Earlier this week, Zelenskyy said he would give up the presidency if doing so would achieve lasting peace for Ukraine and membership in NATO.
“If to achieve peace, you really need me to give up my post, I’m ready,” Zelenskyy said at a forum marking the three-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.