Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sat down for an interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier Friday evening after getting into a heated spat with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance during an Oval Office meeting earlier in the day.
Zelensky had reportedly traveled to Washington, D.C., to work out the details of ending the three-year-old war with Russia and sign a deal to give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, both of which fell apart after the debacle at the White House.
“So [Sen. Lindsey Graham] says you need to consider resigning. Is that on the table?” Baier said to the dejected Ukrainian president.
“I don’t know if he will be happy after my words. This decision can do only people of Ukraine,” Zelensky said, indicating that only the people of his nation can make the choice by voting for someone else.
“You’re not going to step down to do a peace deal?” Baier pressed.
“No, I was always ready. I’m not sure that it’s a good idea for such proposals. But anyway, I always said if the United States will support NATO, I think that it’s enough for Ukraine,” the Ukrainian president said.
“So I think I did all I had to do, and if somebody is not happy with me, OK. But between us, yes, Americans vote for American president. Each European country votes for their president, and only Ukrainians,” Zelensky said.
“With all respect to Lindsey, if I can say Lindsey, we know each other, yes, and only Ukrainians,” he added.
His position is problematic because, since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began, Zelensky has declared martial law and will not hold elections for his citizens to make that decision.
At one point during the tense Oval Office exchange earlier in the day, Trump wagged his finger at the Ukrainian leader, who was seated right next to him, and told him he had to “be thankful” after the U.S. during the Biden administration poured tens of billions in money and military assistance into the war-torn country following Russia’s 2022 invasion.
“It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this,” Trump said, before Vance broke in.
“You can say ‘thank you’ –” he began before Zelensky interrupted and said he had thanked “the American people” many times in the past for their help.
“You can accept that there are disagreements,” Vance continued, “and let’s go litigate those disagreements rather than trying to fight it out in the American media when you’re wrong. We know you’re wrong.”
Then it was Trump’s turn.
“But you see, I think it’s good for the American people to see what’s going on,” he began. “You have to be thankful. You don’t have the cards. You’re buried there. Your people are dying. You’re running low on soldiers –” he continued as Zelensky continued trying to interrupt.
“No, listen,” Trump went on. “The you tell us, ‘I don’t want a cease fire. I don’t want a cease fire.’ Look — if you could get a cease-fire right now, I tell ya you’d take it so the bullets stop flying and your men stop getting killed.”
“Of course I want to stop the war,” Zelensky countered. “But I said to you with guarantees.”
“But you’re saying you don’t want a cease-fire,” Trump responded. “I want a cease-fire. Because you’ll get a cease-fire faster than you’ll get an agreement.”
