President Trump bashed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator without elections” in a blazing rant Wednesday, one day after an American delegation met with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.
Ukraine didn’t have a seat at the table at the Riyadh discussions, leaving Zelensky fuming that his country wasn’t represented in the first formal talks between Washington and Moscow since the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only ‘TRUMP,’ and the Trump Administration, can do,” Trump, 78, wrote in a lengthy Truth Social post, referencing Ukraine suspending elections in 2024 due to the ongoing war.
“Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the ‘gravy train’ going. I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues…..”
Zelensky, a popular comedian and actor before entering politics, was elected president in 2019 with around 74% of the vote. He drew worldwide admiration for refusing to flee the country ahead of the Russian invasion, reportedly telling then-President Joe Biden “I need ammunition, not a ride.”
Ukraine’s constitution prohibits elections from taking place under martial law, which Zelensky declared in 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion.
Trump had initially promised he would seek a solution to the war with — Europe’s biggest and deadliest since World War II — that would involve both Russia and Ukraine.
But the president’s tone has shifted in the last few days, with Trump now calling Zelensky a “modestly successful comedian” with “very low” approval ratings in Ukrainian polls and saying “the only thing he was good at was playing Biden ‘like a fiddle.’”
“Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy [sic], talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. [sic] and ‘TRUMP,’ will never be able to settle,” Trump went on in his Truth statement.
“The United States has spent $200 Billion Dollars more than Europe, and Europe’s money is guaranteed, while the United States will get nothing back.”
The president had been pushing for a deal with Ukraine that would get the US billions of dollars worth of rare-earth minerals as a form of repayment for the billions the US provided the country.
Zelensky initially epressed openness to the rare earths deal, but then pushed back after Trump proposed a 50% ownership of Ukraine’s rare-earth deposits.
“I didn’t let the ministers sign a relevant agreement because in my view it is not ready to protect us, our interest,” Zelensky said at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend.
On Tuesday, Trump had falsely claimed the Ukrainian president is down to “4% approval rating” and urged Ukraine to hold elections as soon as possible. He also accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia.
Trump had a lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin Feb. 12, after which he said he would be open to visiting Russia and meeting with the Kremlin tyrant in Saudi Arabia to bring the war to a close.
