According to Mike Waltz, the Ukrainian delegation was “stunned” when instructed to leave.
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz detailed the reaction of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and his team after they were asked to leave the White House following a tense exchange with President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.
The incident occurred during a meeting on Friday that was supposed to finalize a minerals agreement between the US and Ukraine. The discussion broke down when Zelensky insisted Trump should increase support for Kiev instead of remaining neutral to negotiate a deal with Moscow. Trump accused Zelensky of being ungrateful for US assistance and unwilling to compromise to end the conflict. J.D. Vance criticized Zelensky’s lack of diplomacy.
In a Saturday interview with Breitbart News, Mike Waltz stated that “the dealmaker in chief knows when to walk away from a bad deal or a bad negotiation” and described how he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio conveyed Trump’s feelings to Zelensky’s delegation.
“They were stunned. I don’t know how they thought that could move forward after that kind of very public episode with the entire world watching,” Waltz said. “It was really his team – and as you saw from his ambassador, she just put her head in her hands in the middle of the Oval Office – that knew the gravity of what had just happened.”
An unnamed White House staff member previously said that Trump essentially “kicked out” Zelensky and claimed the Ukrainian delegation was “begging to reset.” However, according to Fox News journalist Jacqui Heinrich, Rubio and Waltz insisted they immediately leave the White House grounds.
Waltz added that the Ukrainian team was informed that “American patience had run out,” questioning, “How do you come and insult someone when you’re practically begging them for money and assistance?”
“So we made that clear in no uncertain terms. We made it clear that the negotiation, which could have been a fantastic day for them and the country, was over, and that it was time to go,” Waltz stated.
Meanwhile, Rubio criticized Zelensky for “wasting” everyone’s time with his behavior and questioned his true motives regarding the conflict with Russia. In a CNN interview, Rubio suggested Zelensky “should apologize” for turning the meeting into a “fiasco.”
Shortly after the meeting, Zelensky acknowledged it didn’t go well but indicated he wouldn’t apologize to the US President. In a Fox News interview, he asserted that “we have to be very open and very honest” in bilateral interactions. He attributed some of his statements to translation issues but ultimately said he was “unsure” if he did “anything bad” to offend Americans.
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