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Happy Friday! Somehow it is already the last day of February. In today’s edition, we break up the consequences at home and abroad from today’s White House meeting between Donald Trump, JD Vance and Volodymyr Zelenskyy that became a game of shouts.
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– Adam Wollner
The confrontation of the oval office listened around the world
A White House meeting that intended to initiate negotiations on an agreement on the rare land minerals of Ukraine became a remarkable confrontation, with President Donald Trump and vice president JD Vance who punished the Ukrainian President Volodymyrkyy and told him that he was not grateful enough for the United States, Rebecca Shabad and NNAMDI EGWUWU.
The Oval office shouting party has destroyed hope for the Mineral Agreement, which Trump and his allies had presented as an important step forward for Ukraine on the road to peace with Russia more than three years after the war began.
A White House official told NBC News that Trump and other US officials felt disrespected and asked Zelenskyy to leave the White House, saying he was not welcome on Friday. Zelenskyy departed abruptly and a joint press conference was canceled between the two leaders.
The exchange stressed the tension that has emerged between the United States and Ukraine, along with many of its European allies, on the toughest line that Trump has taken to the country since he entered the position. (More about what all this means to Zelenskyy below).
Vance’s role: As Henry J. Gómez points out, it was a vance comment that caused the unexpected high volume argument for the world to see.
It was a sign of how Vance, who as a senator was known for his opposition to American aid for Ukraine, affirms himself on foreign policy issues immediately as vice president. Earlier this month, Vance made waves at the Munich Security Conference with a speech that pointed to other world leaders. And on Thursday, the day before becoming entangled with Zelenskyy, Vance mixed it at an Oval office meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, although in a much lighter tone.
A source familiar with the planning of Trump’s meeting said there was not a predetermined strategy for Vance to face Zelenskyy in the way he did. Vance, added the source, felt forced to respond after finding Zelenskyy unnecessarily provocative in his behavior.
“No one expected Zelenskyy to enter there and act with law,” said this person, who added that the expectation was that the Oval office meeting would go out as a typical bilateral meeting.
How Republicans are responding: The legislators of the Republican party gathered largely around Trump and Vance. Senator Lindsey Graham, RS.C., who has been a firm defender of helping Ukraine, said he does not know if Trump and Zelenskyy can “repair the damage” and resume peace conversations.
“Or need to give up and send someone with whom we can do business, or need to change,” Graham said about Zelenskyy.
However, some more moderate camera republicans reached a different tone. Representative Don Bacon, Republican of Neb., Told NBC News that the watering exchange was “a bad day for the foreign policy of the United States.” Representative Mike Lawler, RN.y., described the meeting as a “lost opportunity” for both countries and said that “today’s winner is Vladimir Putin.” And the representative Brian Fitzpatrick, Republican of PA-PA., Called the “heartbreaking” day events and said that both parties should return to the negotiating table.
How the Democrats respond: The Democrats universally criticized Trump and Vance, accusing them of Kowtowing to Putin. Representative Seth Moulon, D-Mass., Said during an MSNBC interview that “this is the beginning of the end. Putin begins not only to walk throughout Ukraine, but walking throughout Europe. “
A previous meeting on Friday between Zelenskyy and the senators was “very bipartisan and very supportive,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Dr.i. When asked about the most spiteful tone in the oval office, Whitehouse said: “That is what you get to let Vance in the room.”
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The Zelenskyy dilemma on exhibition in the Oval Office clash
By Kristen Welker
The heated shock between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval office has raised new questions about the perspectives of peace in Ukraine. And stressed the dilemma that Zelenskyy faces while trying to end the three -year war in his country with Russia.
Zelenskyy has tried to emphasize the need for US support, while warning that Ukraine must participate in any peace negotiation and that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted.
When I sat with Zelenskyy earlier this month, he made it clear that bets are high.
“It will be very, very, very difficult,” Zelenskyy said when asked if Ukraine could survive without US military support. “And, of course, in all difficult situations, you have a chance. But we will have low possibilities and low chances of surviving without the support of the United States. “
And the Ukrainian president seemed to choose his words carefully during our interview when he was asked if Trump was negotiating in good faith, saying: “I hope so. Yes, I have that. I tell it a lot. “
But today, Zelenskyy was challenging, with tensions between him and Trump reaching a boiling point in the White House.
The confrontation left more questions than answers on the way forward to peace in Ukraine. Will the United States continue to be involved in possible high -fire negotiations? Can these conversations succeed if the United States is not involved? And could Ukraine lose the United States as an ally?
“I don’t want to think that we will not be strategic partners,” Zelenskyy told me earlier this month. “I do not want to think about it because it will exert a pressure on morality: the moral of the Ukrainians and will be the worst since the beginning of the war.”
Today’s clash today also raises questions about the future of American alliances with their traditional European partners, many of whom met in Ukraine.
The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed solidarity with Ukraine in social media posts after the meeting. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said: “I think we were well to help Ukraine and punish Russia three years ago, and continue doing so. And when I say ‘we’, I mean the United States of America, Europeans, Canadians, Japanese and many others. “
We will explore all this and more in “Meet The Press” this Sunday with the president of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, R-La.; Senator Bernie Sanders, I-VT.; and Senator James Lankford, R-Okla.
🗞️ The other main stories today
- 📝 Then: Trump is expected to firm an executive order aimed at making English the official language of the United States, it would be the first time in history that the country would have an official language. Read more →
- 💰 Budget Battle: Republicans are considering an important budget change that would hide the impact of the deficit of extending Trump’s billionaire tax cuts to avoid paying for them. Read more →
- 🥊 join the fray: The democratic leaders of the House of Representatives presented an Amicus report in support of a lawsuit that seeks to block the dismantling of the consumer financial protection office. Read more →
- ➡️ In the United States: The governor of Iowa, Kim Reynolds, signed a bill that eliminates the gender identity of the Iowa Civil Rights Law, making the State the first to eliminate the civil rights of a previously protected class. Read more →
- ➡️ In the United States, Cont. Oklahoma Republicans face a proposal that would require public school districts to ask parents for a citizenship voucher before registering their children. Read more →
- 📃 Fallout ‘Epstein Files’: Yesterday a release of very Ballyholed documents related to the case of Jeffrey Epstein became anger and disappointment, with conservative figures and even the attorney general Pam Bondi claiming that the FBI agents were hiding the complete cases. Read more →
- 🗣️ ‘devastated’. ‘Cruel.’ ‘Surreal.’: We talked with a dozen federal employees who were fired as a result of Trump’s and Elon Musk efforts to reduce government size. This is what they had to say →
That’s all of the politics desk for now. Today’s bulletin was compiled by Adam Wollner, Bridget Bowman and Faith Wardwell.
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