The much-anticipated U.S. mineral deal with Ukraine was canceled and the future of Washington’s support for Kyiv is now in question after U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance engaged in an unprecedentedly heated argument with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Following the blowup at an Oval Office press engagement, Zelensky and his team were ordered to leave the White House.
The tumultuous turn of events came after Zelensky traveled to Washington, planning to sign a deal that would give the U.S. access to his country’s mineral wealth. It was one component of Trump’s plan to secure a peace deal to end the all-out war, now going into its fourth year. But, after the better part of an hour of relatively cordial talk, the wheels came off spectacularly as the press gaggle descended into a shouting match.
The discussion grew angrier after Vance told Zelensky, “I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.”
When Zelensky tried to object, Trump grew agitated and raised his voice.
“Right now…you’re gambling with the lives of millions of people,” Trump told Zelensky. “You’re gambling with World War III. You’re gambling with World War III. And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country. It’s backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have.”
You can see the final 10 minutes of that meeting in the following video.
The full video of the press engagement can be seen below for full context:
After that blow-up, Zelensky’s team left the Oval Office to head to a “separated room,” while the U.S. team stayed in the Oval Office, a White House official told CBS News. “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 network reported.
The decision was made after Trump decided Zelensky was “not in a place to negotiate,” CNN White House reporter Kaitlan Collins said on X.
Once the Ukrainians left, Trump announced his decision to call off the mineral deal on his Truth Social social media platform.
“…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,” Trump stated. “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.”
The White House released a statement saying Trump and Vance were “standing up for Americans” during the Oval Office exchange with Zelensky. It included justification for several comments the two U.S. leaders made.
Zelensky took to X to thank Americans.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) put out a post on X stating that Russian President Vladimir Putin “was the only winner” in the Oval Office argument.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called the press conference a “disaster” and questioned whether the U.S. could ever work with Zelensky again.
In addition to putting a halt, at least temporarily, to the mineral deal, the blow-up raises questions about the future of U.S. support for Ukraine, which has received nearly $200 billion in military and other aid since the full-on Russian invasion three years ago.
The Pentagon’s new “rapid response” X account created to push back at the media weighed in on the events.
“Thank you @POTUS for standing up not only for America, but for the American warfighter,” the Pentagon stated.
After leaving the White House, Zelensky contacted several European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
The Ukrainian leader received a torrent of support from world leaders on X.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her country would propose to its partners an immediate summit involving the U.S. and European nations and allies to discuss how “to deal with the great challenges of today, starting with Ukraine.”
“Every division of the West makes us all weaker and favours those who would like to see the decline of our civilisation,” Meloni said in a statement following the Zelensky-Trump clash.
How this has played domestically in Ukraine remains to be seen. Zelensky’s hasty departure from the White House under far from ideal conditions comes as his troops are facing a tough fight across 600 miles of front lines and a decreasing salient in Russia’s Kursk region. Though European officials have promised to step up and support Ukraine, the U.S. remains Kyiv’s primary backer.
What comes next is unclear. On one hand, this could give Trump and his supporters in Congress the opening they need to exit the conflict entirely, a move that would send a sharp chill through the already frosty relationship with America’s European allies. A potential cut-off of U.S. arms to Ukraine would be disastrous, not just in terms of the supply of new weapons but supporting those that are already used in action there. Such an opening would be a major lift for Moscow, although it could prompt Europe to enter into more of a wartime footing in a snap attempt to fill what would become increasingly widening gaps in Ukraine’s military machine as time goes on.
As for the U.S., the meeting will certainly have global impacts outside of Europe as allies and enemies alike try to predict how Washington will react to circumstances that directly impact their nations going forward.
When it comes to any peace deal, that seems far less likely than it did this morning, although things can change once again. Considering how much is at stake here, both Ukraine and the U.S. could come back to the table in order to move the process forward, despite Zelensky and Trump’s disagreements.
Update: 5:44 PM Eastern –
The Trump administration “is considering ending all ongoing shipments of military aid to Ukraine” in response to Zelensky’s Oval Office remarks and his perceived intransigence in the peace process, a senior administration official told The Washington Post.
Update: 6:05 PM Eastern –
The White House press pool released comments Trump made to reporters.
“I would say it didn’t work out exactly great from his standpoint. He very much overplayed his hand. We’re looking for peace.”
“I’m looking for peace. We’re not looking to go into a 10-year war and play games. We want peace.”
“He’s looking for something that I’m not looking for. He’s looking to go on and fight, fight, fight. We’re looking to end the death.”
“Somebody would say why do you care about the Ukrainian and Russian soldiers? I care about them. I care about everybody.”
“He’s dealing with a very weak set of cards.”
“He’s gotta say ‘I want to make peace.’ He doesn’t have to stand there and say ‘Putin this, Putin that,’ all negative things. … I don’t want to fight a war any longer.”
Asked if Trump asked Zelensky to leave the White House, Trump said, “I don’t have to tell you that.”
Asked whether he trusts Putin or Zelenksy more, Trump said, “I don’t trust or distrust anybody, I just want to get the deal done.”
“We’re not going to keep fighting. We’re going to get the war done or let them go and see what happens.”
Asked if he wants Zelensky gone, “I want anybody that’s going to make peace. If he’s capable of making peace, which he may or may not be, but I want somebody who’s going to make peace. Again, he doesn’t have the cards. When we signed up, he’s got all of the cards. That doesn’t mean he can fight. He’s got to stop the fighting, stop the death.”
“He said he wants to come back right now, but I can’t do that.”
“Ceasefire could take place immediately … but he doesn’t want to do that, that’s fine.”
“I want a ceasefire now. He says, ‘oh, I don’t want a ceasefire.’ Well all of a sudden he’s a bigshot because he has the U.S. on his side. Either we’re going to end it or let him fight it out, and if he fights it out, it’s not going to be pretty. Because without us, he doesn’t win.”
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com