President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated and clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday after the Ukrainian leader vowed to reject a ceasefire without security assurances once fighting with Russia stops.
“You don’t have the cards,” Trump pointedly warned Zelenskyy, later adding, “You’re gambling with World War III. And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to [our] country.”
Zelenskyy was in Washington to sign a rare earth minerals pact pushed by the American president to help recoup the billions in wartime aid sent by the Biden administration. But minutes after their contentious exchange, Trump suggested on social media that no further action would be taking place on Friday. Zelenskyy left the White House without the deal being signed and a planned joint news conference featuring Trump and Zelenskyy was canceled, a White House official said.
