On February 28, 2025, U.S. president Donald Trump and U.S. vice president JD Vance held a highly contentious bilateral meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy inside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. Televised live and arranged with the intention to discuss continued U.S. support for Ukraine in repelling the ongoing Russian invasion of the country, it was expected to conclude with the signing of the Ukraine–United States Mineral Resources Agreement; however, the meeting ended abruptly and without a clear resolution. During its last ten minutes, Trump and Vance repeatedly criticized Zelenskyy, at times drowning out his voice. Media outlets described it as an unprecedented public confrontation between an American president and a foreign head of state.
Leading up to the meeting, there were tensions between the Trump administration and Zelenskyy’s government. Trump wanted Ukraine to agree on a ceasefire with Russia in order to immediately halt hostilities and work towards a comprehensive peace deal. He had implied Ukraine was to blame for the Russian invasion, and had called Zelenskyy a “dictator” (a statement he later retracted). Zelenskyy wanted strong security guarantees against future Russian aggression before committing to a ceasefire, and believed that without these, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin would break any agreement, as he had before.
The meeting was widely criticized for its fiery, confrontational, and antagonistic tone. Nearly all U.S. allies, along with other global figures, swiftly voiced their support for Zelenskyy following the meeting, with many issuing statements that appeared to rebuke Trump’s confrontational approach. In contrast, Russian officials praised the outcome of the meeting and directed criticism toward Zelenskyy, while Russian media expressed shock. In the United States, reactions were largely divided along party lines.
In the aftermath of the meeting, the Trump administration suspended the provision of intelligence and military aid to Ukraine for around a week. The aid was resumed after Zelenskyy agreed to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, contingent on Russian approval; as Russia rejected the proposal, the ceasefire did not ultimately materialize. In a March 2025 YouGov poll, 51% of Americans felt Trump was disrespectful toward Zelenskyy, while 32% felt Zelenskyy was disrespectful toward Trump. (Wikipedia)