(NewsNation) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lacked diplomacy and preparation in a tense meeting with President Donald Trump, which will undoubtedly hurt him in the war against Russia, Trump’s former press secretary said.
“It went off the rails quick,” NewsNation political contributor and former Trump press secretary Sean Spicer said. “You don’t come into somebody’s house asking for something and then let it go off like this.”
Spicer, who was a part of Trump’s first administration, attributed Zelenskyy’s demeanor during his meeting with Trump to a lack of “preparation” and understanding of “diplomacy.”
Trump met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday after calling his Ukrainian counterpart a “dictator without elections” last week — and the two canceled a joint press conference after a heated exchange at a photo opportunity in the Oval Office.
During the meeting, Zelenskyy told Trump that promises of peace from Vladimir Putin can’t be trusted, noting the Russian leader’s history of broken promises. Trump said Putin hasn’t broken agreements with him.
Trump said Zelenskyy isn’t acting “at all grateful” for the aid given to Ukraine from the United States for the war with Russia.
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At one point, Trump, raising his voice, said to Zelenskyy, “You’re not really in a good position right now.”
“You’re gambling with WWIII,” Trump said.
Vice President J.D. Vance, who was at the photo op, said it was time to try something different than what Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden. Zelenskyy directly told Vance in beginning in 2014 Ukraine had discussions with Russia.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy Ukraine’s president, left, and US President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. Zelenskiy is meeting with Trump to discuss a deal that would allow the US to share in Ukraine’s natural resources, hoping to start a discussion on security guarantees. (Photographer: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Vance said it was “disrespectful for Zelenskyy to come into the Oval Office, litigating in front of the American media.”
“Have you said thank you once?” Vance asked Zelenskyy.
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Following the shouting match, Zelenskyy was told to leave by the president and other senior officials.
Spicer said the interaction “doesn’t bode well before an end to this conflict.”
“Zelenskyy has lost the upper hand that he might have had in the deal,” he said, adding that the Ukraine leader should have been more thankful to Trump and the support the U.S has given the country.
NewsNation’s Kellie Meyer, Tanya Nouri and Kevin Bohne contributed to this story.
