Hours after his explosive Oval Office argument with Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump mocked the Ukrainian for acting like a ‘big shot’ and for refusing his demands for an immediate cease fire.
Trump insisted Zelensky didn’t want peace – even doing a sarcastic impression of his position after a stunning confrontation that ended with Trump telling Zelensky to leave.
‘I want a ceasefire now. He said, “Oh, I don’t want a ceasefire,” Trump said.
‘Well, all of a sudden, he’s a big shot, 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 it, without us, he doesn’t win,’ Trump said.
Trump spoke after kicking Zelensky out of the White House in a confrontation that escalated when Zelensky and Vice President JD Vance traded barbs while the cameras rolled.
‘You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country,’ Trump told Zelensky earlier while the cameras rolled.
Trump provided his after-action review of the angry meeting while sporting a red MAGA cap as he made his way to Marine One for a weekend in Florida.
He described it as a dispute centered on his call for a cease fire, and less about the personal clashes that aired when Vance demanded Zelensky say ‘thank you’ for the support.
‘I would say it didn’t work out exactly great. ‘From his standpoint, I think he’s very much overplayed his hands. We’re looking for peace. We’re not looking for somebody that’s going to sign up a strong power and then not make peace, because they feel emboldened
‘We’re not looking to go into a 10 year war and play games… 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,’ said Trump.
Zelensky has publicly and privately insisted on security guarantees, pointing to past times when Russian President Vladimir Putin has violated cease fires agreements and other pledges.
The Ukrainians fear Russia could use the period of a cease fire to rebuild the forces and consolidate their gains.
Putin invaded his country in 2022 despite providing assurances he wouldn’t. Ukraine was able to push back against the initial invasion, but Russian forces have been carving out incremental gains.
‘He’s got to say I want to make peace. He doesn’t have to say Putin this, Putin that – all negative things. You’ve got to say, I want to make peace. I don’t want to fight a war any longer. His people are dying. He doesn’t have the cards.’
Trump leveled threats about what would happen if Ukraine doesn’t come around, a move he said would condemn Ukraine to a long war against a major power.
‘We’re not going to keep fighting. You’re going to get the war done, or let them go and see what happens. Let them fight it out.’
He didn’t say he wants Zelensky gone, saying ‘I want anybody that’s going to make peace.’
But Trump returned to what he said in the Oval Office: ‘He doesn’t have the cards.’
‘He’s got to stop the fighting, stop the death. He’s losing hundreds of thousands of soldiers. It’s time to stop the death,’ Trump said.
Zelensky refused to back down in his own interview with Bret Baier on Fox News Friday night.
‘We’re thankful to Americans for all your support, you did a lot, I’m thankful to President Trump and Congress’ bipartisan support. You helped us a lot from the very beginning, you helped us to survive. We are strategic partners,’ he said.
‘Nobody wants to finish more than we because we are in this war, in this battle for freedom for our lives,’ he said.
Zelensky called for a ‘just, lasting peace.’