Will ugly squabble with Trump cost Zelenskyy his job?

Disaster – that’s the word to sum up the last night scuffle between United States President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The world watched the fiery exchange at the Oval Office on Friday (February 28) between the two leaders in shock.

As Trump and the US Vice-President JD Vance clashed with Zelenskyy, ties between America and Ukraine deteriorated in real time. “This is going to be great TV,” Trump remarked as the fracas came to a close in front of the world’s media.

The ugly spat has put Ukraine’s future — as well as its leader’s — in jeopardy as it completes three years of war with Russia.

Let’s take a closer look.

More from Explainers

When Zelenskyy meets Trump, expect a tussle over military-vs-minerals security guarantees Kyiv will have to make ‘compromises’ to end war with Russia, Trump tells Zelenskyy

Trump-Zelenskyy talks collapse

It was a cordial start as US President Donald Trump welcomed his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House, joking about his attire. The Ukraine’s leader was hoping to leave after signing a minerals deal with Trump, which would pave the way for the beginning of the end of the war with Russia.

However, none of that happened last night as Trump scrapped plans to sign the agreement that would give the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.

Editor’s Picks

1

Can Ukraine survive a fourth year of war with Russia? 2

How Donald Trump shook US and the world in his first month in office

And, all it took were a mere 10 minutes for the US-Ukraine relationship to collapse. Raised voice, rolling of eyes and a near-shouting match followed around the 40-minute mark.

It was Vice-President JD Vance’s interjection that saw tempers flare in the Oval Office.

Vance said the “path to peace and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy”. “That’s what President Trump is doing,” he said, defending the US president’s approach of engaging in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine war.

Addressing the US VP, Zelenskyy pointed out that Putin had first invaded Ukraine back in 2014, referring to Crimea’s invasion by Russia’s troops.

“Nobody stopped him,” he said of Putin. “What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you talking about? What do you mean?” Zelenskyy added.

The interaction turned visibly tense, with Vance accusing the Ukraine’s leader of being disrespectful. “I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media… You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict,” he said.

It was at this point Trump intervened, telling the Ukraine’s leader: “You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now.”

Zelenskyy responded: “I’m not playing cards. I’m very serious, Mr President. I’m the president in a war.”

In a scathing attack, Trump said, “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have.”

Vance said to Zelenskyy, “Have you said ‘thank you’ once this entire meeting? No.”

When the Ukraine’s leader tried to respond, the US president told him his country was in big trouble. He continued: “The problem is I’ve empowered you to be a tough guy and I don’t think you’d be a tough guy without the United States and your people are very brave. But, you’re either going to make a deal or we’re out.

“And if we’re out, you’ll fight it out and I don’t think it’s going to be pretty … But you’re not acting at all thankful, and that’s not a nice thing.”

Zelenskyy left the White House early after the on-camera dispute. The press conference to announce the minerals deal between the US and Ukraine was also called off.

Minutes later, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Zelenskyy could “come back when he is ready for peace”.

What public spat means for Ukraine

The videos and images from the heated exchange have stumped the world. The diplomatic plunge in the US’ ties with Ukraine is not good news for the war-torn country.

As ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) noted, Zelenskyy and Ukraine can no longer rely on Trump or the US. They will have to depend on Europe to plug the gaps to be left from America’s likely withdrawal of support.

After the Oval Office skirmish, any chance for Ukraine to join the US-led Nato military alliance might also be over for good.

According to CNN analysis, this is the “most significant turning point” in European history since 1989 or even 1945.

Rachel Rizzo, nonresident senior fellow at the Europe Center, told the Atlantic Council think tank, “Now is the time to really see what Europe has on offer. Will they be able to step up to the plate in a meaningful way, provide Ukraine the long-term security guarantees it so desperately needs, and potentially be ready to put boots on the ground to help secure a lasting peace? Or will Brussels bureaucracy and differences of opinion among member states destroy its ability to play the leadership role it should be playing?”

After the White House debacle, the Ukraine’s leader is expected to head to London for a summit with European leaders to discuss support for Ukraine. Many European leaders have already rallied behind Zelenskyy after his public fallout with Trump.

However, it remains to be seen whether they will be able to replace Ukraine’s biggest ally in the war — the US.

Will Zelenskyy step down?

Not just Ukraine, but Zelenskyy’s future is also in peril after the spat with Trump.

Before the high-stakes Friday meeting, the US president called the Ukrainian leader a “modestly successful comedian” and a “dictator” last week. Zelenskyy had claimed Trump was living in Russian “disinformation space”.

He would have been hoping to diffuse the tensions with the US president through the talks on Friday and a mineral deal.

However, the situation has only gone out of hand. Appearing for an interview on Fox News after the unprecedented public display of acrimony, Zelenskyy admitted that the dispute was “not good for both sides”.

When pushed about if he felt he owed Trump an apology, the Ukraine’s president did not give a direct reply but said “I’m not sure that we did something bad.”

But Zelenskyy did say he believed the US-Ukraine relationship could be salvaged.

He ended the interview with an appeal to the American people. “We are thankful and sorry for this”.

Experts believe Ukraine could lose support among Republicans in Congress after the diplomatic tussle with Trump.

US senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, who has been one of the most outspoken backers of Ukraine in the war, has slammed Zelenskyy’s “disrespectful” behaviour in the Oval Office. He also questioned whether Washington can continue to “do business” with the Ukrainian leader.

Zelenskyy has “made it almost impossible to sell to the American people that he’s a good investment”, Graham told reporters outside the West Wing, as per The Guardian.

When asked whether Zelenskyy should step down, Graham replied: “He either needs to resign or send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change.”

He also demanded Zelenskyy to “apologise” to Trump or “accept the consequences” in an interview with Fox News.

The Ukraine’s leader has previously said that he is ready to step aside if that would bring peace to his country, in exchange for Nato membership.

When asked during the Fox interview if he would consider resigning over the dispute with Trump, Zelensky said: “No. This decision can only be done by the people of Ukraine. Americans vote for their presidents… and only Ukrainians vote for Ukrainians.”

As Rajan Menon, Spitzer professor emeritus at City College of New York, wrote for The Guardian in an opinion piece that for Zelenskyy “there’s no coming back from this debacle. Trump holds grudges, doesn’t forget slights and never forgives.”

With inputs from agencies