The Oval Office showdown heard round the world: From the Politics Desk

NBC News

28-02-2025

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team's latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
Happy Friday! Somehow it is already the last day of February. In today's edition, we break down the fallout at home and abroad from today's White House meeting between Donald Trump, JD Vance and Volodymyr Zelenskyy that devolved into a shouting match.
— Adam Wollner
The Oval Office showdown heard round the world
A White House meeting that was intended to kick off negotiations on a deal over Ukraine's rare earth minerals devolved this afternoon into a remarkable confrontation, with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance chastising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and telling him he wasn't grateful enough to the United States, Rebecca Shabad and Nnamdi Egwuonwu report.
The Oval Office shouting match has for now shattered hopes for the minerals deal, 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 U.S. officials felt disrespected and asked Zelenskyy to leave the White House, saying that he was not welcome back on Friday. Zelenskyy abruptly departed and a planned joint news conference between the two leaders was called off.
The exchange underscored the tension that has emerged between the United States and Ukraine — along with many of its European allies — over the tougher line that Trump has taken toward the country since coming into office. (More on what this all means for Zelenskyy below.)
Vance's role: As Henry J. Gomez notes, it was a comment from Vance that sparked the unexpected, full-blown, high-volume argument for the world to watch.
It was a sign of how Vance, who as a senator was known for his opposition to U.S. aid for Ukraine, is asserting himself on matters of foreign policy immediately as vice president. Earlier this month, Vance made waves at the Munich Security Conference with a speech that took sharp aim at other world leaders. And on Thursday, the day before tangling with Zelenskyy, Vance mixed it up in an Oval Office meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer — albeit in a much lighter tone.
A source familiar with the planning for the Trump meeting said there was no predetermined strategy for Vance to confront Zelenskyy the way he did. Vance, the source added, felt compelled to respond after finding Zelenskyy needlessly provocative in his demeanor.
'No one expected Zelenskyy to come in there and act entitled,' said this person, who added that the expectation was the Oval Office meeting would go off like a typical bilateral meeting.
How Republicans are responding: GOP lawmakers largely rallied around Trump and Vance. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has been a staunch supporter of aiding Ukraine, said he doesn't know if Trump and Zelenskyy can 'repair the damage' and resume peace talks.
'He either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change,' Graham said of Zelenskyy.
A few more moderate House Republicans, though, struck a different tone. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told NBC News that the heated exchange was 'a bad day for America's foreign policy.' Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., called the meeting a ' missed opportunity ' for both countries and said 'the only winner of today is Vladimir Putin.' And Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., called the day's events ' heartbreaking ' and said both sides should return to the negotiating table.
How Democrats are responding: Democrats universally slammed Trump and Vance, accusing them of kowtowing to Putin. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., said during an interview on MSNBC that 'this is the beginning of the end. Putin starts not only walking all over Ukraine, but walking all over Europe.'
An earlier meeting Friday between Zelenskyy and senators was 'very bipartisan and very supportive,' Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said. Asked about the more rancorous tone in the Oval Office, Whitehouse said: 'That's what you get for letting Vance in the room.'
By Kristen Welker
The heated clash between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office has raised new questions about the prospects for peace in Ukraine. And it underscored the dilemma facing Zelenskyy as he tries to end his country's three-year war with Russia.
Zelenskyy has tried to stress the need for American support, while also warning that Ukraine must be involved in any peace negotiations and that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted.
When I sat down with Zelenskyy earlier this month, he made it clear that the stakes are high.
'It will be very, very, very difficult,' Zelenskyy said when asked if Ukraine could survive without U.S. military support. 'And, of course, in all the difficult situations, you have a chance. But we will have low chance, low chance to survive without support of the United States.'
And the Ukrainian president seemed to choose his words carefully during our interview when asked if Trump was negotiating in good faith, saying, 'I hope so. Yes, I count on it. I count on it very much.'
But today, Zelenskyy was defiant, with tensions between him and Trump reaching a boiling point at the White House.
The confrontation left more questions than answers about the path forward for peace in Ukraine. Will the U.S. still be involved in any potential ceasefire negotiations? Can those talks succeed if the U.S. is not involved? And could Ukraine lose the U.S. as an ally?
'I don't want to think that we will not be strategic partners,' Zelenskyy told me earlier this month. 'I don't want to think about it because it will make a pressure on morale — morality of Ukrainians and it will be worst thing from the very beginning of the war.'
Today's Oval Office clash also raises questions about the future of U.S. alliances with its traditional European partners, many of whom rallied around Ukraine.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed solidarity with Ukraine in social media posts after the meeting. French President Emmanuel Macron said, 'I think we were all right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago, and to continue to do so. And when I say 'we,' I mean the United States of America, the Europeans, the Canadians, the Japanese and many others.'
We will explore all of this and more on 'Meet the Press' this Sunday with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.; Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.