Democratic and Republican lawmakers have clashed over meeting between Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, President Donald Trump and his vice, JD Vance.
Democratic lawmakers have sided with Zelenskyy after he was publicly berated by Trump and his vice president JD Vance in a disastrous meeting.
During the tensed meeting, Trump, who was meeting Zelenskyy for the first time, told the Ukrainian leader he was “gambling with world war three.”
Trump’s deputy, Vance told the Ukrainian leader he was “disrespectful”, asking him if he had ever said ‘thank you’ to America for its support so far.
The meeting was meant to kick off the process of ending Kyiv’s three-year war with Russia.
Trump made it clear to Zelenskyy that signing a minerals deal with the US was the first step toward a ceasefire agreement but Zelenskyy left without signing it.
And in a statement afterwards, Democratic senators condemned Trump and Vance’s approach to the meeting, calling it “shameful” and “disgraceful” treatment of the Ukrainian leader.
“Every time I’ve met with President Zelenskyy, he’s thanked the American people for our strong support,” Chris Coons, a Democratic senator from Delaware, wrote on X.
“We owe him our thanks for leading a nation fighting on the front lines of democracy – not the public berating he received at the White House.”
Adam Schiff, the California senator, said: “A hero and a coward are meeting in the Oval Office today. And when the meeting is over, the hero will return home to Ukraine.”
Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator from Connecticut, said: “What an utter embarrassment for America. This whole sad scene.”
The Arizona senator, Ruben Gallego added: “This is a disgrace.”
Senator Chris Van Hollen from Maryland saw the incident as “beyond disgraceful”. The Illinois senator Dick Durbin added: “The people of Ukraine and President Zelenskyy deserve an apology.”
“Trump and Vance berating Zelenskyy – putting on a show of lies and misinformation that would make Putin blush – is an embarrassment for America and a betrayal of our allies,” Durbin said. “They’re popping champagne in the Kremlin.”
Trump and Vance “are doing Putin’s dirty work”, the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, said after the calamitous meeting, adding that his party will “never stop fighting for freedom and democracy”.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, from Rhode Island, said Trump and Vance were “acting like ventriloquist dummies for Putin”.
But Republican senators rushed to defend Trump, describing the president’s exchange with Zelenskyy as evidence that he was “putting America first”.
Mike Lee, a Utah Republican senator, thanked Trump and Vance “for standing up to our country and putting America first”. The Indiana Republican senator Jim Banks also thanked Trump for “standing up for America”.
“[Zelenskyy] ungratefully expects us to bankroll and escalate another forever war–all while disrespecting the President,” Banks wrote on X, adding “The entitlement is insulting to working Americans.”