President Trump bashed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “Dictator” in a blazing rant Wednesday, one day after an American delegation met with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.
Ukraine didn’t have a seat at the table at the Riyadh discussions, leaving Zelensky fuming that his country wasn’t represented in the first formal talks between Washington and Moscow since the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only ‘TRUMP,’ and the Trump Administration, can do,” Trump, 78, wrote in a lengthy Truth Social post, referencing Ukraine suspending elections in 2024 due to the ongoing war.
“Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the ‘gravy train’ going. I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues…..”
Vice President JD Vance made a point of sharing Trump’s post on Vance’s own X account, adding the message: “I just wanted to make sure no one missed it.”
Trump’s post went live hours after Zelensky accused the American president of living in a Russian-made “disinformation space” after Trump claimed to reporters a day earlier that Ukraine had “started” the war.
“The idea that Zelensky is going to change the president’s mind by badmouthing him in public media, everyone who knows the president will tell you that is an atrocious way to deal with this administration,” Vance told the Daily Mail in an interview Wednesday.
Zelensky, a popular comedian and actor before entering politics, was elected Ukraine’s president in 2019 with around 74% of the vote. He drew worldwide admiration for refusing to flee the country ahead of the Russian invasion, reportedly telling then-President Joe Biden, “I need ammunition, not a ride.”
Ukraine’s constitution prohibits elections from taking place under martial law, which Zelensky declared in response to Russia’s invasion.
Trump had initially promised he would seek a solution to the war — Europe’s biggest and deadliest since World War II — that would involve both Russia and Ukraine.
But the president’s tone has shifted in the last few days, with Trump now calling Zelensky a “modestly successful comedian” with “very low” approval ratings in Ukrainian polls and saying “the only thing he was good at was playing Biden ‘like a fiddle.’”
“Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy [sic], talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and ‘TRUMP,’ will never be able to settle,” Trump went on in his Truth statement.
“The United States has spent $200 Billion Dollars more than Europe, and Europe’s money is guaranteed, while the United States will get nothing back.”
Trump’s comments caused an uproar among America’s European allies, with former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arguing the statements were meant “to shock Europeans into action.”
“When are we Europeans going to stop being scandalised about Donald Trump and start helping him to end this war?” asked Johnson, a staunch supporter of Ukraine. “Of course Ukraine didn’t start the war. You might as well say that America attacked Japan at Pearl Harbor. Of course a country undergoing a violent invasion should not be staging elections. There was no general election in the UK from 1935 to 1945. Of course Zelenskyy’s ratings are not 4%. They are actually about the same as Trump’s.
“Trump’s statements are not intended to be historically accurate but to shock Europeans into action,” the ex-PM added. “In particular the US can see $300 [billion] of frozen Russian assets – mainly in Belgium. That is cash that could and should be used to pay Ukraine and compensate the US for its support. Why is Europe preventing the unfreezing of Putin’s cash? The US believes Belgium, France and other countries are blocking. It’s absurd. We need to get serious and fast.”
The president had been pushing for a deal with Ukraine that would get the US billions of dollars worth of rare-earth minerals as a form of repayment for the billions the US provided the country.
Zelensky initially expressed openness to the rare earths deal, but then pushed back after Trump proposed a 50% ownership of Ukraine’s rare-earth deposits.
“I didn’t let the ministers sign a relevant agreement because in my view it is not ready to protect us, our interest,” Zelensky said at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend.
On Tuesday, Trump had falsely claimed the Ukrainian president is down to a “4% approval rating” and urged Ukraine to hold elections as soon as possible. He also accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia.
Trump had a lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 12, after which he said he would be open to visiting Russia and meeting with the Kremlin tyrant in Saudi Arabia to bring the war to a close.
