What they said: Trump, Zelenskyy and Vance’s heated argument in the Oval Office
The Hindu
The full transcript of President Trump and VP Vance's confrontation with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy over war, diplomacy, and U.S. support in the Oval Office of the White House on February 28, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday (February 28, 2025) berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the war in Ukraine, accusing him of not showing gratitude after he challenged Mr. Vance on the question of diplomacy with Russia's Vladimir Putin.
Trump-Zelenskyy clash in White House LIVE updates
The argument in the Oval Office was broadcast globally. It led to the rest of Mr. Zelenskyy's White House visit being canceled and called into question how much the U.S. will still support Ukraine in its defense against Russia's 2022 invasion.
Vance: “For four years, the United States of America, we had a president who stood up at press conferences and talked tough about Vladimir Putin, and then Putin invaded Ukraine and destroyed a significant chunk of the country. The path to peace and the path to prosperity is, maybe, engaging in diplomacy. We tried the pathway of Joe Biden, of thumping our chest and pretending that the president of the United States’ words mattered more than the president of the United States’ actions. What makes America a good country is America engaging in diplomacy. That’s what President Trump is doing.”
Zelenskyy: “Can I ask you?”
Vance: “Sure. Yeah.”
Zelenskyy: “OK. So he (Putin) occupied it, our parts, big parts of Ukraine, parts of east and Crimea. So he occupied it in 2014. So during a lot of years — I’m not speaking about just Biden, but those times was (Barack) Obama, then President Obama, then President Trump, then President Biden, now President Trump. And God bless, now, President Trump will stop him. But during 2014, nobody stopped him. He just occupied and took. He killed people. You know what the --"
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