Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) blasted Trump with Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky in a meeting Friday at the White House, claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin must be “overjoyed” with the outcome.
“Take the elected Ukrainian leader into an oval office and engage him in a dignified way would have been a show of strength,” Pelosi said in a post on Social Platform X on Friday. Putin must be overjoyed with today’s play.
“Following the US vote following this week’s collaboration with Russia at the United Nations, there has been a disturbing pattern that is opposed to long-standing support for American democracy around the world,” US critic Pelosi refers to the US vote against a UN resolution denounced Russia as an attacker in the conflict with Ukraine.
The meeting between Trump and Zelensky was heartfelt at first, but quickly derailed. The president and vice president Vance accused wartime leaders of ungratefulness of the support the United States provided to Ukraine, saying there was no significant leverage in negotiating the peace deal.
Zelensky questioned Vance’s claim that an agreement could be struck with Putin to end the three-year war in Eastern Europe.
The Ukrainian president pointed out that Putin refused to trade prisoners and would return to a continuing attack on Ukrainian territory, a previous ceasefire.
“I think it would be rude to come to an oval office to try and litigate this in front of the American media,” Vance told Zelensky. “Right now, you have talent issues and you are forcing the draft to the frontline, so we should thank the President for trying to end his conflict.”
Kiev leaders then said the US did not feel the devastation of conflict in Eastern Europe due to distance, but could change in the future.
“You’re not in a position so don’t tell us what we’re feeling… to direct what we’re trying to feel,” Trump said. “We feel very good and it makes us feel very strong. You’re not in a very good position right now.”
Trump then said there was no “now card” in Ukraine. Zelensky added, “You’re gambling with millions of people, you’re gambling with World War II… And what you’re doing is very rude to this country, to this country, to this country, to support far more than many people said they should.”
MNA/