Trump Kicks Zelensky Out After He Refuses To Bend The Knee

Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s joint press conference was canceled after a disastrous meeting between the two leaders.

The White House informed reporters that Trump had expelled Zelensky after a heated exchange. I Photos: The White House X / Volodymyr Zelensky X

The scheduled briefing was called off following a tense exchange, Edith Olmsted wrote in an opinion piece for The New Republic.

The White House informed reporters that Trump had expelled Zelensky. Expecting to be showered with praise, Trump and Senator J.D. Vance were reportedly angered by Zelensky’s demeanor and rhetoric.

According to Trump and his allies, Zelensky had been “shrugging and rolling his eyes” throughout their conversation, leading Trump to feel disrespected. The U.S. president, who has insulted Zelensky for years, now demanded deference.

Zelensky refused to sign a rare minerals deal between the U.S. and Ukraine—a key component of ongoing negotiations to compensate the U.S. for the billions of dollars in aid provided to Ukraine.

While Trump has claimed the U.S. has given Ukraine $350 billion, the actual figure is closer to $170 billion—less than what European countries have contributed. The proposed deal would have directed half of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, valued in the hundreds of billions of dollars, into the U.S. market.

For now, the deal appears dead. Trump attempted to downplay the disastrous meeting on Truth Social, but sources say he and Vance repeatedly lashed out at Zelensky as he tried to answer their questions.

Trump also signaled that Ukraine had been disinvited from negotiations to end Russia’s unlawful and deadly invasion.

The situation escalated further when Trump admitted that he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin just two days before meeting with Zelensky—a revelation that reportedly even surprised Marco Rubio, his top diplomat.