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I met with Zelensky this morning and advised him to remain grateful and positive, promising to discuss security guarantees later. However, the meeting was a complete disaster, and I question whether Americans will still see him favorably. Based on what I witnessed, most Americans, including myself, wouldn't want Zelenskyy as a business partner. I spoke with President Trump last night, and he was optimistic about reaching a ceasefire and ending the war. I am proud of President Trump for showing the world not to trifle with him. However, Zelenskyy seemed to try and bait Trump in the Oval Office. JD was awesome.

Speaker 0 described the encounter as 'very unusual, atypical' and noted that everyone was 'awaiting' the readout. They said the room's felt atmosphere was 'not not good' and that, overall, 'it did not seem like things went well.' The speaker attributed the tone to Putin, saying he 'came in and steamrolled, got right into what he wanted to say, and got hit.' The remarks convey a sense of abnormal conduct, anticipation of results, and a perceived unfavorable outcome for the session. These observations focus on the dynamics of the exchange—an unusual start, a dominant delivery by Putin, and concerns about how the discussion proceeded—while the speaker awaits the official readout.

It was just very unusual, atypical, and I think we're all awaiting, you know, the readout because the way that it felt in the room, was not not good. It it did not seem like things went well, and it seemed like Putin came in and steamrolled, got right into what he wanted to say, and got his

So, we just had a very intense meeting between President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Zelensky. Vance suggested diplomacy for peace, but Zelensky quickly shot that down, bringing up a past broken deal with Putin, and questioned what kind of diplomacy Vance was even talking about. Vance responded by mentioning that Zelensky was being disrespectful. Trump then intervened, telling Zelensky not to dictate how they should feel, pointing out Ukraine's weak position and the risk of gambling with World War III. I made it clear that my alignment is with the United States and the world's well-being. I need to be able to negotiate without the kind of hatred Zelensky has for Putin, which makes reaching a deal difficult. I reminded everyone that without the United States, Ukraine has no leverage.

I just came from the press area, and I've learned that President Zelensky has essentially been asked to leave the White House. The feeling is that Zelensky came off as ungrateful and disrespectful during the meetings, with officials noting his body language, like shrugging and eye-rolling. The President believes Zelensky isn't serious about pursuing peace at this time. He's welcome to return when he's ready to have serious discussions about peace, but right now, he's being told he needs to go home. As a result, the lunch planned for them is now going to be eaten by the press staff.

Speaker 0: Decision on whether to supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine or sell them to NATO and let them sell them to Ukraine. Speaker 1: Yeah. I've sort of made a decision pretty much if if if you consider. Yeah. I I think I wanna find out what they're doing with them. Yes. Speaker 0: Yes. Speaker 2: Donald Trump's recent statement to the press about mulling over sending Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine has elicited a response from the Kremlin today. Putin announced that the peace process with the Trump administration to end the Ukraine war is officially, quote, unquote, exhausted. Trump and Putin have had a very, you know, strange relationship, a little touch and go since Trump returned to the presidency. At first, to end the Ukraine war on his very first day in office, Trump has meandered a bit on the issue and is now apparently settling on the Biden administration's policy of arming Ukraine and NATO to the hilt. But can Tomahawk cruise missiles even make much of a difference given that the Russian military has achieved supremacy on the battlefield and maintained that dominance for at least the last year and a half, maybe even longer, if you will. We're now joined by, and we're so pleased he's with us, retired US Army colonel Douglas MacGregor. He's the author of I'm sorry. We also have Brandon Weichert with us, the author of Ukraine. Go cross wires there, a disaster of their own making, how the West lost to Ukraine. Thank you both for being with us. Speaker 3: Sure. Speaker 4: Thank you for having me. Speaker 2: Colonel McGregor, welcome to the show. We're so glad to especially have your perspective on this. And what we're gonna kinda do is a tour, if you will, around the globe because there's several, ongoing and pending conflicts. Right? So let's start with this breaking news out of Russia where Putin says that these talks, these negotiations are exhausted. Are they, as a matter of fact, exhausted, colonel? Speaker 3: Well, I think he was referring specifically to what happened in Alaska. And I think president Trump showed up, you know, in grandiose fashion with the goal of overwhelming, president Putin and his team with his charm and grace and power, and it all failed miserably. President Trump never really listened carefully to anything the Russians said to him. He didn't read any of the material that was pertinent to the discussion. He came completely unprepared, and that was the the message that came out after the meeting. So the Russians were very disappointed. If you don't read their proposals, you don't read what they're doing and what they're trying to accomplish, then you're not gonna get very far. So now, president Trump has completed his transformation into Joe Biden. He's become another version of Joe Biden. Speaker 2: What it is so unexpected. And, you know, it's hard for a lot of a lot of Trump voters to hear because specifically part of voting for him and the mandate that he had going into this term was in these conflicts. Right? Specifically, the one in Ukraine. He didn't start any new conflicts while in office in the first term. Why this version of Trump this term? I know you, like I, look into the hiring, the administration, the pressures from the outside on the president. What is influencing where he is now on Ukraine, colonel MacGregor? Speaker 3: Well, that's a that's a difficult question. I mean, first of all, he grossly underestimated the complexity of the of the war. If you don't understand the foundations for the conflict, how this conflict came about, I mean, I I was standing around listening to someone like Brzezinski in the nineteen nineties trying to tell president Clinton that it was critical to address Ukraine's borders because Eastern Ukraine was, quote, unquote, Russified and effectively not Ukrainian. Nobody would listen to Brzezinski, and so we walked away from that very problem. And in the run up to this thing back in 2014, I was on several different programs, and I pointed to the electoral map, And it showed you who voted for what where. It was very obvious that the East and the Northeast voted to stay with the Russian pro Russian candidate, and everybody else voted against the pro Russian candidate. So none of this should come as a surprise, but I don't think president Trump is aware of any of that. I don't think he studied any of that. And so he's got a lot of people around him pushing him in the direction of the status quo. He went through this during his first term, disappointed all of us because he could never quite escape from the Washington status quo. So he simply returned to it, and I don't see anything positive occurring in the near future. Speaker 2: That's sort of the same as well, with other agencies like the the DOJ, which I wanna get into a little bit later. Brandon, you've been writing about this as a national interest. So what what do you make of it? Speaker 4: Well, I think that right now, this is a lot of vamping from Trump. I think the colonel is a 100% correct when he says Trump really didn't come prepared to the Alaska meeting. I think ultimately Trump's default is to still try to get a deal with Putin on things like rare earth mineral development and trade. I think it's very important to note, I believe it was Friday or Thursday of last week, Putin was on a stage at an event and he reiterated his desire to reopen trade relations with The United States and he wants to do a deal with Trump on multiple other fronts. So that's a positive thing. But ultimately, I think that people need to realize that Trump says a lot of stuff in the moment. The follow through is the question. I am very skeptical that he's actually going to follow through on the Tomahawk transfer if only because logistically, it's not practical. Ukraine lacks the launchers. They lack the training. The the targeting data has to come exclusively and be approved exclusively by the Pentagon, which means that Trump will be on the hook even more for Joe Biden's war, which runs against what he says he wants to get done, which is peace. Regardless of whether it's been exhausted or not that process, Trump I think default wants peace. So I think this is a lot of bluster and I think ultimately it will not lead to the Tomahawk transfer. Last of all because we don't have enough of these Tomahawks. Right? I mean, that that is a a finite amount. I think we have about 3,500 left in our arsenal. We have 400 we're sending to the Japanese Navy, and we're gonna need these systems for any other potential contingency in South America or God forbid another Middle East contingency or certainly in the Indo Pacific. So I think that at some point, the reality will hit, you know, hit the cameras and Trump will not actually follow through on this. Speaker 2: So speaking of South America, let's head that way. Colonel McGregor, I I don't know if you know. I've been covering this pretty extensively what's been going on with the Trump administration's actions on Venezuela. So a bit of breaking news. Today, the US State Department claims that Venezuela is planning to attack their embassy, which has a small maintenance and security board other than, you know, diplomatic staff. Meanwhile, Maduro's regime argues they're just foiled a right wing terrorist plot that's that was planning to stage a false flag against the US embassy to give the US Navy fleet. There's a lot off in Venezuela's coast the impetus to attack Maduro. I've been getting some pushback, you know, on this reporting related to Venezuela, because, you know, Trump's base largely doesn't want any new conflicts. They're afraid this is sort of foreign influence wanting wanting him to go there. Are we justified in what Trump is doing as far as the buildup and what we are hearing is an impending invasion? Is it is the Trump administration justified in this action, colonel MacGregor, in Venezuela? Speaker 3: No. I I don't think there's any, pressing pressing need for us to invade or attack Venezuela at all. But we have to go back and look at his actions to this point. He's just suspended diplomatic relations with Venezuela, which is usually a signal of some sort of impending military action. I don't know what he's being told. I don't know what sort of briefing he's received, what sort of planning has been discussed, but we need to keep a few things in mind. First of all, the Venezuelan people, whether they love or do not love Maduro, are very proud of their country, and they have a long history of rebelling against foreign influence, particularly against Spain. And they're not likely to take, an invasion or an intervention of any kind from The United States lately. Secondly, they've got about 400,000 people in the militias, but they can expect, at least a 100,000 or more paramilitaries to come in from Brazil and Colombia and other Latin American states. It's why the whole thing could result in a Latin American crusade against The United States. And finally, we ought to keep in mind that the coastline is 1,700 miles long. That's almost as long as the border between The United States and Mexico. The border with Brazil and with Colombia is each of them are about 1,380 kilometers long. You start running the math and you're dealing with an area the size of Germany and and France combined. This is not something that one should sink one's teeth in without carefully considering the consequences. So I don't know what the underlying assumptions are, but my own experience is that they're usually a series of what we call rosy scenarios and assume things that just aren't true. So I I'm very concerned we'll get into it. We'll waste a lot of time and money. We'll poison the well down there. If we really want access to the oil and and gas, I think we can get it without invading the place. And they also have emerald mines and gold mines. So I think they'd be happy to do business with us. But this obsession with regime change is very dangerous, and I think it's unnecessary. Speaker 2: That is definitely what it seems they're going for. When I talk to my sources, ChromaGregor, and then I'll get your take on it, Brandon, they say it's a four pronged issue. Right? That it's the drug that, of course, the drugs that come through Venezuela into The United States, Trend Aragua, which we know the ODNI and Tulsi Gabbard, DNI, Tulsi Gabbard was briefed on specifically, that the right of trend in Aragua and how they were flooded into the country, counterintelligence issues, a Venezuelan influence in, you know, in some of our intelligence operations, and, just the narco terrorist state that it is. But you feel that given even if all of that is true and the Venezuela oh, excuse me, in the election fraud. Right? The election interference via the Smartmatic software. Given all that, you still feel it's not best to invade, colonel. You how do we handle it? How do we counter these threats coming from Venezuela? Speaker 3: Well, first of all, you secure your borders. You secure your coastal waters. You get control of the people who are inside The United States. We have an estimated 50,000,000 illegals. Somewhere between twenty five and thirty million of them poured into the country, thanks to president Biden's betrayal of the American people and his decision to open the borders with the help of mister Mayorkas that facilitated this massive invasion. I would start at home. The drug problem is not down in Venezuela. The drug problem is here in The United States. If you're serious, anybody who deals in drugs or is involved in human trafficking, particularly child trafficking, should face, the death penalty. Unless you do those kinds of things, you're not gonna fundamentally change the problem here. Now as the narco state title, I think, is a lot of nonsense. The drugs overwhelmingly come out of Colombia. They don't come out of Venezuela. A very small amount goes through Venezuela. I'm sure there are generals in the Venezuelan army that are skimming off the top and putting extra cash in their banks, but it's not a big it's not a big source from our standpoint. We have a much more serious problem in Mexico right now. Mexico is effectively an organized crime state, and I don't think, what Maduro is doing is is really, in that same category. On the other hand, I think Maduro is courting the Chinese and the Russians. And I think he's doing that because he feels threatened by us, and he's looking for whatever assistance or support he can get. And right now, given our behavior towards the Russians in Ukraine, it makes infinite sense for the Russians to cultivate a proxy against us in Central And South America. This is the way things are done, unfortunately. We there are consequences for our actions. I don't think we've thought any of them through. Speaker 2: Well, in in in talking about turning this into a broader conflict or a bigger problem, I I I I know, Brandon, you had heard that that Russia basically told Maduro, don't look to us. Don't come to us. But now this was a couple weeks ago. Yep. Yep. Like you just said, colonel MacGregor, things have changed a little bit. Right? Especially looking at what Putin said today. So will Russia now come to Venezuela's aid, to Maduro's aid? Speaker 3: I think it's distinctly possible, but it's not going to be overt. It'll be clandestine. It'll be behind the scenes. The Chinese are also gonna do business with Maduro. They have an interest in the largest known vindicated oil reserves in the world. The bottom line is and this you go back to this tomahawk thing, which I think Brandon talked about. It's very, very important. The tomahawk is a devastating weapon. Can they be shot down? Absolutely. The Serbs shot them down back in 1999 during this Kosovo air campaign. However, it carries a pretty substantial warhead, roughly a thousand pounds. It has a range of roughly a thousand miles. And I think president Trump has finally been briefed on that, and he has said, yeah. I I wanna know where they're going to fire them, whom they're going to target. Well, the Ukrainians have targeted almost exclusively whatever they could in terms of Russian civilian infrastructure and Russian civilians. They've killed them as often and as much as they could. So the notion if you're gonna give these things to these people or you're gonna shoot for them, you can expect the worst, and that would precipitate a terrible response from the Russians. I don't think we understand how seriously attacks on Russian cities is gonna be taken by the Russians. So I would say, they will provide the Venezuelans with enough to do damage to us if if it's required, but I don't think they expect the Venezuelans to overwhelm us or march into America. That's Mexico's job right now with organized crime. That's where I think we have a much more serious problem. Speaker 4: I I agree with the colonel on that. I think also there's an issue. Now I happen to think we we because of the election fraud that you talk a lot about, Emerald, I think there is a threat in Maduro, and I I do think that that there is a more serious threat than we realize coming out of that sort of left wing miasma in Latin America. And I I think the colonel's correct though in saying that we're we're making it worse with some of our actions. I will point out on the technical side. I broke this story last week. The Venezuelan government, the military Padrino, the the defense minister there, claimed that his radar systems actually detected a tranche of US Marine Corps f 35 b's using these Russian made radars that they have. This is not the first time, by the way, a Russian made radar system using these really and I'm not going get into the technical details here, but using really innovative ways of detecting American stealth planes. It's not the first time a Russian system has been able to do this. And so we are now deploying large relatively large number of f 35 b's into the region. Obviously, it's a build up for some kind of strike package. And there are other countermeasures that the f 35 b has in the event it's detected. But I will point out that this plane is supposed to be basically invisible, and we think the Venezuelans are so technologically inferior, we do need to be preparing our forces for the fact that the Venezuelans will be using innovative tactics, in order to stymie our advances over their territory. It's not to say we can't defeat them, but we are not prepared, I don't think, for for having these systems, seen on radar by the Venezuelans, and that is something the Russians have helped the Venezuelans do. Speaker 2: Very complex. Before we run out of time, do wanna get your thoughts, colonel MacGregor, on, the expectation that Israel will strike Iran again. Will we again come to their aid? And do you think we should? Speaker 3: Well, first of all, stealth can delay detection but cannot resist it. Yeah. I think the stealth is grossly exaggerated in terms of its value. It causes an enormous price tag Yeah. When you buy the damn plane. And the f 35, from a readiness standpoint, is a disaster anyway. So, you know, I I think we have to understand that, yes, mister Netanyahu has to fight Iran. Iran has to be balkanized and reduced to rubble the way the Israelis with help from us and the British have reduced Syria to chaos, broken up into different parts. This is an Israeli strategy for the region. It's always been there. If you can balkanize your neighbors, your neighbors don't threaten you. Now I don't subscribe to the Israeli view that Iran is this permanent existential threat that has to be destroyed, but it doesn't matter what I think. What matters is what they think. They think Iran is a permanent existential threat and therefore must be destroyed. Your question is, will they find a way to attack Iran? The answer is yes. Sooner rather than later. The longer they wait, the more robust and capable Iran becomes. And, I think that's in the near term that we'll see we'll see some trigger. Somehow, there'll be a trigger and Iran will strike. And will we support them? Absolutely. We're already moving assets into the region along with large quantities of missiles and ammunition, but our inventories, as I'm sure you're aware, are limited. We fired a lot of missiles. We don't have a surge capacity in the industrial base. We need one. Our factories are not operating twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. The Russian factories are. Their manufacturing base can keep up. And by the way, the Chinese are right there with them. They have the largest manufacturing base in the world. So if it comes down to who could produce and fire the most missiles, well, we're gonna lose that game, and Israel is gonna lose with us. But right now, I don't see any evidence that anyone's worried about that. Speaker 4: Yeah. Speaker 2: You know what? Colonel McGregor, I I I don't know if I feel any safer after you joined us today. It is very concerning. It's it's a concerning situation we find ourselves in, and I feel like so many people because they feel the election turned out the way they wanted to wanted it to, are not concerned anymore. Right? But we are in Speaker 1: a finite amount of time and there's still great pressures upon the president. There are many voices whispering in his ear. And so we constantly have to be calling out what we Speaker 2: see and explaining to people why it matters. Speaker 3: Remember, this president has said this. Everybody dealing with the administration has said this. It's a very transactional administration. Yep. Follow the money. Who has poured billions into his campaign and bought the White House and Congress for him? When you understand those facts in, you can explain the policy positions. Speaker 1: And I think that's also why we're, the leading conversation we're seeing on acts and social media. Right now, Colonel McGregor, thank you so much for joining us today. We hope you'll come back soon. Speaker 3: Sure. Thank you. Speaker 2: And, Brandon, as always, good to see you, my friend. Thank you. Speaker 4: See you again. Nice to meet you, colonel. Speaker 3: Very nice to see you. Bye bye.

President Zelenskyy needs to apologize for turning our meeting into a fiasco by being antagonistic. He undermined our efforts to bring about peace by attacking Putin and making maximalist demands. This makes us question whether he truly wants a peace deal. Our goal is to explore whether peace is possible and get Russia to the negotiating table. I question whether Zelenskyy is willing to do what's needed for a negotiation. Despite reports, we are coordinating with the Ukrainians. President Trump wants to bring an end to this unsustainable, bloody war. He's the only leader who has a chance of achieving this. Zelenskyy should be thanking and supporting President Trump for his efforts to help bring an end to this war.

Here's the White House's perspective on what happened today. Supposedly, the Ukrainians were pleading for a reset. Zelenskyy lingered in the West Wing, hoping to salvage the day, which was planned to conclude with a signed agreement and a joint press conference. However, the President refused and essentially kicked him out of the White House. Rubio and Waltz reportedly told the Ukrainian delegation that a deal wasn't possible at this time because the U.S. believes Zelenskyy isn't prepared to discuss peace terms. He's welcome to return when his attitude changes. The two sides were initially scheduled to have lunch together before the press conference.

So, I saw Trump meet with Zelensky, and it was wild. Trump really laid down the law, a total master class in the art of the deal. He made it clear the U.S. isn't just a piggy bank. We want something in return for our investment. Zelensky seems used to just getting what he wants without even saying thank you, walking in, demanding money without any gratitude. Trump's message was clear: this is how it's going to be. The press conference was canceled. It was a serious power move. Some feel bad for Zelensky but it shows the world that the United States is done being a charity organization.

This is a sad day and an embarrassment for the U.S. on the world stage. There's no question this was a setup. Zelensky was compelled to agree to a horrible deal that would have sent Ukraine's minerals to the U.S. without security guarantees, all to improve relations with Trump. During the meeting, Vice President Vance confronted Zelensky, which couldn't have happened without Trump's blessing. It was a play to Trump's base and Putin, meant to humiliate Zelensky, but he didn't play along. Zelensky has thanked the U.S. countless times for its support. This was an effort to humiliate him and to scuttle the U.S.-Ukraine relationship so that Trump no longer feels any obligation to provide support and to hand, US interests, and Ukraine and and potentially Europe to Putin on a silver platter.

Zelenskyy said many remarkable and disturbing things, like when he repeatedly rejected President Trump's statement that we should pursue a ceasefire. How could you reject a ceasefire? He also kept saying Europe is doing so much more than us, which begs the question: what do you need us for? If Europe is so great, why are you begging us for money, protection, and guarantees? President Trump is a peacemaker, having brought peace for four years during his previous term. Today, we saw what it's like to have a strong leader in the White House, and the whole world witnessed the strength of American leadership.

I met with Zelensky this morning, advising him to remain grateful and positive, promising to discuss security guarantees later. However, what I witnessed was an absolute disaster, making me question if Americans can still see him favorably. Most Americans, including myself after seeing that, wouldn't want to partner with Zelensky. Last night, I spoke with President Trump, who was optimistic about a potential deal. I'm incredibly proud of President Trump for demonstrating strength. He aims for a ceasefire and an end to the war, but Zelensky seemed to provoke him in the Oval Office.

Okay, here's my perspective from the Oval Office press conference. The President was being very gracious to Zelensky, even when Zelensky was needling him and saying untrue things. Things went off the rails when a Polish journalist asked a question. After the President answered it, I answered it, and something about my answer set Zelensky off. I tried to diffuse the situation and suggested we continue the conversation in private, but the President wanted to have the conversation in public for the American people to see. There was a lack of respect and a sense of entitlement from Zelensky. Ultimately, the President wants the killing to stop, and Zelensky needs to come to the negotiating table. The real breakdown was Zelensky's unwillingness to engage in the peace process, and he wasn't there yet, but I think he'll get there eventually.

I've learned that President Trump has essentially kicked Zelensky out of the White House. My sources tell me that Trump felt disrespected by Zelensky's body language during their meeting, interpreting his shrugs and eye rolls as ungrateful. The President believes Zelensky isn't ready to seriously discuss peace and has told him to return only when he is. The lunch planned between them is now being eaten by press staffers. It appears this relationship was strained even before this meeting. Just a week ago, President Trump referred to Zelensky as a dictator, though he seemed to dismiss the comment when asked about it later. I'm told Zelensky was begging to stay and resolve the situation.

I think the situation with Ukraine is a complete disaster. I've been there multiple times since the war started and understand the consequences of Putin's actions. I was hoping the minerals deal would go well; it would be transformative. I spoke with Zelensky this morning. I was proud of President Trump and JD Vance standing up for our country. However, what I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful, and I'm unsure if we can do business with Zelensky again. Most Americans wouldn't want to partner with him after that. His confrontational approach was excessive. The relationship between Ukraine and America is vital, but after what I witnessed, I question if Zelensky can make a deal with the U.S. He was terrible in Munich and has made it difficult to convince Americans he's a good investment. He either needs to resign or change his approach.

I've been to Ukraine many times since the war started and admire their fight. I hoped this minerals deal would be transformative, having even spoken with Zelensky this morning. President Trump was in a good mood last night, and I've never been more proud of him. However, what I witnessed in the Oval Office was disrespectful, and I'm unsure if we can continue doing business with Zelensky. His handling of the meeting and confrontation with the president was excessive. While the relationship between Ukraine and America remains vital, I question Zelensky's ability to strike a deal with the U.S. after this. He was terrible in Munich, making it difficult to convince Americans he's a worthwhile investment. He either needs to resign and send someone we can work with, or he needs to change his approach.

I met with Zelensky this morning and advised him to stay positive and grateful. We'll discuss security guarantees later, but the meeting was an utter disaster. I'm questioning if Americans can still trust him. After witnessing today's events, most Americans, including myself, wouldn't want to partner with Zelensky, despite my multiple visits to Ukraine. I spoke with President Trump last night, and he was optimistic about the deal. I'm incredibly proud of President Trump for showing the world that he is not to be trifled with. He was positive about getting a ceasefire and ending the war, but Zelensky seemed to want to provoke Trump in the Oval Office. JD did a great job.

This situation is an embarrassment for the U.S. on the world stage. This was a setup, orchestrated to compel Zelensky into a horrible deal that would have sent Ukraine's minerals to the U.S. without concrete security guarantees. Zelensky came to Washington to improve relations with Trump, but Vice President Vance confronted him, which I believe was deliberate and known by Trump. This was a play to Trump's base and, more importantly, to show fealty to Putin and humiliate Zelensky. Zelensky, showing dignity and representing his people, didn't follow the script and tried to correct the lies being told. It wasn't about gratitude; it was an effort to undermine the U.S.-Ukraine relationship, allowing Trump to hand U.S. interests and Ukraine to Putin. The big question is, why?

I think the situation with Ukraine is a complete disaster. I've been there many times since the war started and appreciate their fight. I had hoped this minerals deal would transform our relationship, and I even spoke with Zelensky this morning. President Trump was in a very good mood last night, and I've never been more proud of him. However, what I witnessed in the Oval Office was disrespectful, and I'm unsure if we can do business with Zelensky again. His handling of the meeting was over the top, and I don't think most Americans would want to partner with him. While the relationship between Ukraine and America is vital, I question if Zelensky can make a deal after this. He was terrible in Munich, making it hard to convince Americans he's a good investment. He either needs to resign and send someone we can work with, or he needs to change his approach.

I've never seen an exchange like that between Zelensky and President Trump. I can't stand Putin, but Zelensky is indicative of a pervasive problem with nations thinking the US is a never-ending source of support while complaining about it. Without the US, Ukraine would be Russia. These modern comforts are supported by the US military. This mindset emboldens people like Putin because they know the well runs dry. There's no winning without the United States, so it's not a good idea to walk into the Oval Office and be difficult. Everything with Zelensky is a photo op, and it doesn't seem genuine. He says they've been alone since day one, which isn't true. They've received hundreds of billions of dollars, largely from the United States. A simple "please" and "thank you" would be nice to hear.

I just came from the press area and have learned that President Biden has essentially kicked Zelensky out of the White House. Zelensky's own delegation is advising him to return home. The President felt disrespected by Zelensky's body language, including shrugging and eye-rolling, which officials perceived as ungrateful. Biden believes Zelensky is not currently prepared for peace negotiations and can return when he is. As a result, the scheduled lunch has been canceled, and the press staff will be eating it instead.

This is a sad day and an embarrassment for the U.S. on the world stage. This was a setup orchestrated by Donald Trump and J.D. Vance to appease Vladimir Putin and humiliate Zelensky. Trump even admitted it was "great television." Zelensky was compelled to come to Washington seeking support, but Vice President Vance ambushed him, with Trump's blessing. In my experience, such actions don't occur without the president's approval. This was a deliberate attempt to undermine the U.S.-Ukraine relationship and hand U.S. interests to Putin. Zelensky, despite the pressure, maintained his dignity and defended the truth, refusing to play along with their script. His attempt to clarify the situation wasn't about a lack of gratitude, as he has repeatedly thanked the U.S. for its support.

I've been in countless bilateral meetings with heads of state, but I've never witnessed behavior like President Zelensky's. He berated and interrupted his host instead of showing gratitude for the U.S.'s significant aid, which has essentially kept him alive and in power. This was very disappointing to see. I sincerely hope President Zelensky reconsiders his approach, reaches out to President Trump, expresses the gratitude he owes, apologizes for his recent behavior, and agrees to this mutual rights deal. It's the best path to peace in the region and serves the interests of both our countries.

I met with Zelensky this morning and advised him to maintain a grateful and positive attitude, promising to discuss security guarantees later. However, the meeting was an utter disaster, leaving me questioning whether Americans can still see him as a reliable partner. Based on what I saw today, most Americans, including myself after nine trips to Ukraine since the war began, would hesitate to partner with him. I spoke with President Trump last night, and he was optimistic about a potential deal. I'm incredibly proud of President Trump for demonstrating his strength. He was positive about getting a ceasefire to end the war, but Zelensky seemed to be trying to provoke Trump in the Oval Office. JD was awesome.