Trump browbeating Zelensky offers rare window into how US wields power

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was unceremoniously kicked out of the White House on Friday after a meeting between him and US President Donald Trump descended into total bedlam in front of the world. 

America's friends, foes and just curious spectators got an unprecedented view of Trump and Vice President JD Vance fighting, gloves off, with the president of a European country at war with Russia. 

The footage of the three men arguing in the Oval Office is without parallel in the history of the United States and will likely be remembered for a long time.

Foreign governments task their spy agencies with obtaining such behind-the-scenes snippets into the tensions and arguments of rivals and allies alike. 

No other nuclear-armed state has ever allowed the world to have such a raw window into its talks with a country it is arming at wartime against another nuclear-armed state. 

Trump relished the brouhaha, shouting during the fight, “I think it’s good for the American people to see what is going on.”

The footage will be absorbed by Russia, China, Israel, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and other powers who are trying to decipher how to communicate with the unpredictable Trump administration.

The exchange will likely unnerve the leaders of smaller Eastern European countries that border Russia or previously fell within its sphere of influence. It also marks a failure in France and Britain's efforts to pave the way for a smooth visit for Zelensky.

The UK's Keir Starmer and France's Emmanuel Macron had lavished praise on Trump to sway him towards support for Ukraine. 

Vance accuses Zelensky of 'propaganda tour'

The fight started when Zelesnky interjected as Vance defended the Trump administration's outreach to Russia to negotiate an end to the war. Zelensky detailed Russia's offensive on Ukraine, and asked, “What kind of diplomacy, JD, [are] you asking me about?”

Vance accused Zelensky of “litigating” talks in front of the US media instead of thanking Trump for his support, saying his country faces “problems”.

'Don’t tell us what we are gonna feel because you are in no position to dictate'

- US President Donald Trump

“You guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the frontlines because you have manpower problems,” Vance said.

Vance was referring to Ukraine’s severe shortage of fighting men, which has weakened its position on the battlefield.

Since the Biden administration, the US has pressed Ukraine to lower its draft age to 18, but Zelensky refused over concerns that it could spark widespread backlash. The age is 25.

Tensions escalated when Zelensky asked Vance if he had ever visited the frontlines like other US lawmakers and officials, to which Vance replied, “You bring them on a propaganda tour.”

Zelensky warned that the US would be at risk if it didn’t support Ukraine, saying, “You have nice ocean. And don’t feel now. But you will feel it in the future.”

Trump has regularly said that the US has an ocean dividing it from Europe, which means they should provide more military support to Ukraine and beef up Nato spending. Ukraine is not a member of Nato, and Trump had earlier ruled out agreeing to accept them into the alliance.

The meeting went off the rails after this.

Trump erupted in anger, browbeating the Ukrainian president, shouting, “You don’t know that. You don’t know that…don’t tell us what we are gonna feel because you are in no position to dictate,” he said.

'With us you have cards'

As they argued, Trump shouted, “You are not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now. With us you start having cards.”

Trump has made no secret of his desire to end the Ukrainian war quickly, since his administration held high-level talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia. But the US is still arming Ukraine. Friday’s pandemonium suggests that could be in danger.

Trump said after the meeting on his Truth Social platform, “I have determined that President Zelensky is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want peace.”

Besides signalling a profound shift in how the United States views the world, with Trump effectively warning he would wash his hands of Ukraine, the meeting let the world see how a superpower treats its more minor partners when it resists its demands.

Trump’s haranguing of a smaller Ukraine, which is militarily dependent on the US, was the type of rhetoric between a superpower and its client that journalists and historians scour archives and pump sources for, except this time it was all captured on camera.

'Your country’s in big trouble'

Zelensky tried to make his case with Trump, but was shut down. At one point Trump even touched Zelensky.

“I’m not playing cards,” the Ukrainian leader said. “I'm very serious.”

A visibly angry Trump hit back.

“You're playing cards. You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. Your gambling with WWIII and what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country. This country, that backed you,” Trump said.

'If you can get a ceasefire right now, I tell you, you take it'

- US President Donald Trump

Amid the shouting, Vance accused Zelensky of campaigning for “the opposition”, referring to a September 2024 trip he made to a Pennsylvania ammunition factory with that state's governor, Josh Shapiro, a Democrat.

Zelensky tried to explain his position but was shouted down again by Trump, “Your country’s in big trouble,” he said. “You're not winning this.”

“If you didn’t have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks,” he said.

Trump reiterated US military support to Ukraine and said the US provided $350bn. But that number is disputed. Congress has approved five bills supporting Ukraine with a total of $175bn since Russia’s invasion, according to the Congressional Research Service. Of that amount, about $120bn was spent, according to the Kiel Institute in Germany.

European countries have provided $138bn in direct support for Ukraine, the Kiel Institute says.

Behind the dramatic scenes lies a real difference of opinion between Ukraine and the US over how the war should end. Trump appears to be fine with a ceasefire that could freeze the battle lines now, and suggested that has been put on the table in talks with Russia. He said Zelensky wants more.

“‘You tell us, ‘I don’t want a ceasefire. I don’t want a ceasefire…’ If you can get a ceasefire right now, I tell you, you take it so the bullets stop flying and your men stop getting killed…I want a ceasefire.”

As Zelensky argued, "Have you asked my people about a ceasefire?" Trump responded that his administration differed from Biden’s.

Trump said, “It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this.”