"Trump has had his way. He has transformed Ukraine from a subject into an object, and after this White House humiliation some Ukrainians are convinced that the extraction of rare earth metals on Trump’s terms would turn our country into a “colony” of the US.
Still, many Ukrainians would prefer to live in a US colony than in a Russian one, if that’s the choice."
-- Andrey Kurkov is a Ukrainian novelist
Most of the Republican Party defended Trump’s conduct, hailing the president as projecting strength and protecting American interests.
“Most Americans witnessing what they saw today would not want Zelenskyy to be their business partner, including me, and I’ve been to Ukraine nine times since the war started,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close Trump ally, said on Fox News. “I’ve never been more proud of Trump for showing the American people and the world, you don’t trifle with this man.”
"It’s disturbing," said Jack McIntyre, portfolio manager at Brandywine Global. "It looked like we were moving towards progress on a peace deal or a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and maybe now that gets to come on hold, so you have to price in a little bit more uncertainty," he said.
Zelenskyy's olive branch to Trump soon after White House blow up: Sorry for this
Ukraine needs a just and lasting peace, and the country is working exactly toward that, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after his heated argument with US President Donald Trump at the White House.
Zelenskiy's U.S. visit was aimed to keep the U.S. from aligning with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched the Ukraine invasion three years ago. Instead, he clashed with Trump and Vice President JD Vance over the war, highlighting Kyiv’s struggle to retain U.S. backing. Trump later accused Zelenskiy of disrespecting the United States.
European stock futures fell while Wall Street climbed in choppy trading. The Dax and CAC40 futures fell 0.6% and the Eurostoxx 50 futures dropped as much as 1.4% and were last down 0.6%. The S&P 500 index (.SPX), opens new tab was last up 0.58%. The euro fell by as much as 0.37% to a two-week low of $1.036, before paring some of that decline to trade at $1.0366.
The heated confrontation came amid expectations Trump will soon impose punitive tariffs on key U.S. trade partners, which has raised investor fears of a spike in inflation and a hit to economic growth. He said on Thursday his proposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods will take effect on March 4, along with an extra 10% duty on Chinese imports.
The moment the meeting went from cordial to off the rails occurred when Vance said Trump was engaging in diplomacy and Zelensky questioned “what kind of diplomacy, JD, are you speaking about?” noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin has broken ceasefires and killed Ukrainians. As Zelensky spoke, he leaned over and gestured toward Vance with his hands.
“I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country,” Vance said as Zelensky attempted to interrupt. “Mr. President, Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.”
That prompted Zelensky to ask Vance, who has a long standing history of questioning U.S. aid to Ukraine, if he had ever been to his country.
“Had you ever been to Ukraine? Did you see the problems we have?” Zelensky asked, to which Vance responded that he had seen “the stories.”
When Zelensky then tried to suggest that the U.S. had not yet felt the full ramifications from the war, he set off Trump.
“You don’t know that. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel,” Trump said. “You’re in no position to dictate that.”
While campaigning for president last year, Trump repeatedly expressed skepticism about continued U.S. support for Ukraine, which had become the foundation of the Biden administration’s foreign policy. Trump allies in Congress had increasingly moved away from backing support for Ukraine throughout the election, including Vance.
The Trump team’s frustrations with Zelensky bubbled up again in recent weeks.
Trump accused Zelensky of being rude to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a recent trip to Kyiv. Trump officials sought to get the Ukrainian leader to sign onto a critical minerals deal on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, which Zelensky declined to do.
Trump got increasingly personal in recent weeks, calling Zelensky a “dictator without elections” and claiming Ukraine was to blame for the start of the war. Zelensky responded to those claims by saying Trump lived in a “disinformation space” and was echoing Russian talking points.
On the day of the meeting, Trump greeted Zelensky at the White House by commenting on his clothing while the Ukrainian president has always worn a black long sleeve shirt since his country has been at war. When asked by the press if the meeting was going to be good, Trump gave thumbs up before the two leaders went inside the White House.
Once they were inside the Oval, Trump remarked, “I do like your clothing” but Zelensky later seemed frustrated when a pro-Trump reporter in the room questioned Zelensky on why he doesn’t wear a suit and said “a lot of Americans” have an issue with him not doing so.
A White House official told journalists after the spat, Trump and Zelensky went into separate rooms and the Ukrainians wanted the talks to continue, asking to reset.
But Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz ultimately told them they had to leave the White House grounds, which Trump had ordered, and they suggested Zelensky return when he’s ready for peace. Trump felt disrespected by Zelensky’s demeanor and comments during the meeting, telling aides that he was shrugging and rolling his eyes, the official said.
The two leaders had been scheduled to hold a joint press conference and sign a deal giving the U.S. access to Ukraine’s critical minerals supply later in the day but it was canceled.
A short time after reporters left the Oval Office, Zelensky’s SUV pulled up to the West Wing, an indication he was departing sooner than expected. He left shortly after.
White House officials embraced the way the day had gone. The official White House social media account posted a video of Zelensky’s SUV leaving the premises. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump and Vance were “standing up for the American people.”
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