President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were scheduled to sign a minerals deal Friday at the White House and then hold a joint press conference in a choreographed show of solidarity aimed at repairing their increasingly fraught relationship.
Instead, Trump effectively kicked Zelensky out of the White House and canceled the press conference after a remarkably heated exchange with Ukraine’s leader in the Oval Office — a dramatic turn of events that ratcheted up tensions between the two leaders and put Trump’s push for a quick peace deal in Ukraine in doubt.
“I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace,” Trump wrote in a social media post immediately after the Oval Office meeting. “He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
Minutes later, Zelensky’s motorcade was seen pulling up to the White House. A White House spokesperson said Friday that the minerals deal was not signed, according to a pool report.
The public blow up will likely make it harder for Trump and Zelensky to work together on a broader peace deal with Russia, and it confirmed the fears held by many European allies that American support for Ukraine is quickly vanishing under Trump.
The meeting Friday between Trump and Zelensky was supposed to go much differently.
Zelensky arrived in Washington ready to sign a framework agreement granting the U.S. access to some of Ukraine’s rare earth reserves and other natural resources.
Traveling to the White House to sign the deal was a concession by Zelensky, who refused to approve the plan earlier in the month in a failed bid to win security guarantees from the U.S.
Zelensky’s initial pushback sparked a war of words with Trump that foreshadowed the breakdown in their relationship that was put on full display Friday. The president called Zelensky a “dictator without elections” and also claimed falsely that Ukraine started the war. Russia started the war with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Trump’s comments raised concerns that he might sideline Ukraine in the peace talks the U.S. started with Russia earlier this month.
But as both sides appeared close to finalizing the minerals agreement, Trump struck a more conciliatory tone toward Zelensky on Thursday in public remarks ahead of his arrival in the capital.
The shift set the stage for a friendly meeting between the two leaders, and seemed to open the door for the two men to put their recent disagreements to rest.
But tensions quickly escalated once Zelensky arrived at the White House, where Trump greeted him by poking fun at his military fatigues, saying: “Look, he’s all dressed up today.”
Things only went downhill from there.
Speaking in front of a scrum of reporters crowded inside the Oval Office, Vice President JD Vance said it was “disrespectful for Zelensky to come into the Oval Office, litigating in front of the American media.”
Trump then interjected, saying to Zelensky “you’re not really in a good position right now” and adding that the Ukrainian leader was “gambling with World War Three.”
That set off an unusually fiery public argument between an American president and another world leader in the White House. U.S. presidents typically discuss disagreements with allies in private behind closed doors, projecting unity in front of the cameras.
The meeting continued after Trump ordered the press out of the Oval Office, and rumors began circulating that the scheduled joint press conference might get canceled.
At approximately 1:40 p.m., Zelensky walked out of the White House and got into a waiting SUV without answering questions from the press.
Zelensky waved through the window to reporters as his motorcade left the White House grounds, concluding an explosive visit to Washington that did not go as planned.
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