Tensions in the meeting between Trump and Zelensky after JD Vance's intervention

The meeting between Trump and Zelensky took a tense turn after the intervention of Vice President JD Vance, who accused Zelensky of not showing enough gratitude to the US.

Trump rebuked Zelensky after Vice President J.D. Vance claimed the Ukrainian president was being disrespectful while debating the U.S. president in the Oval Office in front of national media.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance sharply criticized Volodymyr Zelensky and escalated their attacks against him during a tense meeting on Friday, in which the Ukrainian leader sought security assurances as the United States tries to push for an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine.

In an Oval Office meeting, Trump accused Zelensky of being disrespectful by pressing for U.S. security commitments to keep the country safe from further Russian aggression.

• "You're playing with the lives of millions of people," Trump said. "You're playing with World War III, and what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that has supported you far more than many people say it should have." How did the tense meeting go?

The last 10 minutes of the nearly 45-minute conversation turned into a tense on-camera exchange between Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Zelensky, who had urged skepticism about Russia’s commitment to diplomacy, citing years of Moscow’s broken promises on the world stage.

1. The heated exchange began with Vance telling Zelensky, “Mr. President, with all due respect, I think it’s disrespectful of you to come to the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media.”
2.  Zelensky tried to voice his objection, prompting Trump to raise his voice and say, “You’re playing with the lives of millions of people,” before adding, “You’re playing with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country — this country that has supported you far more than many people say it should have.”
3. In a stunning display of antagonism and tension in the Oval Office, a room better known for staid diplomatic exchanges, Trump laid out his efforts to force Zelensky to agree to give the United States a stake in his country’s valuable minerals and push him toward a diplomatic resolution to the war on the terms dictated by the American president.

The meeting between Zelensky and Trump was going very well until Vice President JD Vance intervened. In this section, he accuses Zelensky of not having thanked the US enough for the aid it had sent. In another section, Vance says that “there are no men in Ukraine,” to which… pic.twitter.com/1gBPJbkUWP — K13 News (@K13News) February 28, 2025