President Trump got into a heated exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during an extraordinary Oval Office meeting on Friday in which he raised his voice and called the foreign leader “disrespectful.”
The meeting, which began cordially, turned tense after Zelensky posed questions to Vice President Vance, who in turn questioned the gratitude and strategy of the Ukrainian leader.
“I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country,” Vance said. “I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.
“Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems, you should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to his conflict,” Vance said.
Zelensky then suggested that the United States did not feel the ramifications of the war in Ukraine yet because of geography, but would feel it in the future, setting off Trump.
“Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel because you’re in no position… to dictate what we’re going to feel,” Trump replied. “We’re going to feel very good and very strong. You’re right now, not in a very good position.”
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