Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed his gratitude after a heated clash in the Oval Office with US President Donald Trump, who accused him of being ‘disrespectful’
Donald Trump calls Zelenskyy ‘disrespectful’ during meeting
Volodymyr Zelensky has responded in the most ‘brilliant’ way after Donald Trump and JD Vance questioned his gratitude for US support.
When he visited the White House on Friday, the Ukrainian president was expected to sign a deal on sharing the country’s mineral resources, hoping it would be a step towards a ceasefire. However, the meeting soon descended into a shouting match as the US President accused Mr Zelensky of being “disrespectful” for pushing for security guarantees.
Mr Zelensky warned the US would “feel it in the future” if it did not continue to support Ukraine. “You’re gambling with millions of people … You’re gambling with World War Three,” Mr Trump told Mr Zelensky of his attempts to resist the Russian invasion.
Vice President Mr Vance repeatedly accused Mr Zelensky of having not once said ‘thank you’ for their efforts in the three-year fight. Since the tense exchange, Mr Zelensky has taken to X, previously Twitter, to show his appreciation to every single world leader expressing solidarity with his war-torn country.
“Thank you for your support,” he wrote in reply to hundreds of messages sent throughout Saturday. His kind five-words have however been seen as the president poking fun at the bullying he received in the Oval Office.
In response to a video clip compiling all the messages, one X-user wrote: “He is trolling Trump”. While another wrote: “I loved this response. Brilliant.”
A third said: “He does that consistently. His feed has been full of thank you’s for a few years now including probably hundreds of times thanking the U.S. JD Vance was scolding him for not saying yet saying the exact words ‘thank you’ in that discussion, except maybe once.” Another added: “I couldn’t help but notice it in my feed. It’s like he felt bad and went on a reply rampage. Good on him!”
One more said: “Classy response to petty criticism, true leadership on display”. It comes after Mr Zelensky wrote a special message of appreciation where he thanked the “American people” and leadership and held out hope for “strong relations”.
In a series of posts on X on Saturday, the Ukrainian president said his people are “very grateful to the United States for all the support”, and specifically thanked Mr Trump and Congress alongside the “American people”. “Our relationship with the American President is more than just two leaders: It’s a historic and solid bond between our peoples. … American people helped save our people,” he wrote.
“We want only strong relations with America and I really hope we will have them.” Mr Zelensky arrived in London on Saturday for a European summit organised by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
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The meeting on Sunday will include leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania, as well as the Nato secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council.
French President Emmanuel Macron told Portugal’s RTP news channel: “If anyone is gambling with World War Three, his name is Vladimir Putin. My hope is that the United States of America will continue to stand by its history and its principles. Whenever we have had major conflicts, the United States of America has been on the right side of history and freedom.”
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: “Diplomacy fails when negotiating partners are humiliated in front of the whole world. The scene in the White House yesterday took my breath away. I would never have believed that we would one day have to protect Ukraine from the USA.”
Sir Keir Starmer has expressed his “unwavering support for Ukraine” after speaking with both Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky following their heated exchange in the White House, Downing Street said.