abcnews.go.com
Taking questions at Mar-a-Lago, Trump blasted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his administration held talks earlier Tuesday with Russia to bring an end to Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
When asked about Ukraine not being a part of those discussions, Trump criticized Zelenskyy’s leadership.
“Well, you been there for three years,” he said of Zelenskyy. “You should have ended it three years — you should have never started it,” he said, appearing to falsely blame Ukraine for the war. “You could have made a deal.”
President Donald Trump speaks to the media at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Feb. 18, 2025.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
Trump implied Ukraine should have new elections if it wants a seat at the table.
“Well, we have a situation where we haven’t had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law, essentially martial law in Ukraine, where the leader in Ukraine, I mean, I hate to say it, but he’s down at 4% approval rating and where a country has been blown to smithereens,” he said.
