Here, Donald Trump, accompanied by JD Vance, welcomed Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House. The exchange was particularly heated. While peace seemed close, this tense discussion showed how quickly peace can slip through the world's fingers in just a few minutes.
Discover the transcription and the complete translation of this exchange which will remain in history:
Zelensky challenges Vance on Russia, diplomacy
Vance: "For four years, the United States of America had a president who stood up at press conferences and spoke harshly about Vladimir Putin, and then Putin invaded Ukraine and destroyed much of the country. Perhaps the path to peace and prosperity lies through diplomacy. We tried the path of Joe Biden, which is about beating your chest and pretending that the words of the President of the United States mattered more than the actions of the President of the United States. What makes America a good country is that it engages in diplomacy. That's what President Trump is doing."
Zelensky: “Can I ask you a question?”
Vance: “Sure. Yeah.”
Zelensky: “Okay. So he (Putin) occupied our regions, large parts of Ukraine, parts of the east and Crimea. So he occupied it in 2014. So for many years – I’m not talking only about Biden, but these periods were (Barack) Obama, then President Obama, then President Trump, then President Biden, now President Trump. And God bless you, now President Trump will stop him. But in 2014, nobody stopped him. He just occupied and took. He killed people. You know what —”
Trump: “2015?”
Zelensky: “2014.”
Trump: "Oh, 2014? I wasn't there."
Vance: “That’s absolutely correct.”
Zelensky: “Yes, but from 2014 to 2022, the situation is the same, people are dying on the contact line. Nobody stopped him. You know that we had conversations with him, many conversations, my bilateral conversation. And we signed with him, I, like you, the president, in 2019, signed the agreement with him. I signed with him, (French President Emmanuel) Macron and (former German Chancellor Angela) Merkel. We signed a ceasefire. A ceasefire. All of them told me that he would never go… But after that, he broke the ceasefire, he killed our people and he did not exchange prisoners. We signed the prisoner exchange. But he did not do it. What kind of diplomacy are you talking about, JD? What do you mean?”
Vance: "I'm talking about the kind of diplomacy that's going to stop the destruction of your country. Mr. President, with all due respect, I think it's disrespectful of you to come to the Oval Office and try to make this case to the American media. Right now, you're going around forcing draftees to go to the front lines because you have a manpower problem. You should thank the president for trying to stop this conflict."
Zelensky: “Have you ever been to Ukraine and said what problems we have?”
Vance: “I went to –”
Zelensky: “Come once.”
Vance: "I've seen and observed the reporting, and I know that what's happening is that you're bringing people in, you're bringing them in on a propaganda tour, Mr. President. Would you not agree that you've had problems bringing people into your military?"
Zelensky: "We have problems –"
Vance: "And do you think it's respectful to come into the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?"
Zelensky: “A lot of questions. Let’s start from the beginning.”
Vance: “Sure.”
Trump explodes as Zelensky suggests US could 'feel war in the future'
Zelensky: “First of all, during the war, everyone has problems, even you. But you have a beautiful sea and you don’t feel it now. But you will feel it in the future. God bless you.”
Trump: "You don't know. You don't know. Don't tell us how we're going to feel. We're trying to solve a problem. Don't tell us how we're going to feel."
Zelensky: "I'm not telling you. I'm answering these questions."
Trump: "Because you can't say it."
Vance: "That's exactly what you're doing."
Trump: "You're not in a position to dictate to us how we're going to feel. We're going to feel great."
Zelensky: "You will feel influenced."
Trump: "We're going to feel very good and very strong."
Zelensky: "I tell you. You will feel influenced."
Trump: "You're not in a very good position right now. You've allowed yourself to be put in a very bad position..."
Zelensky: "From the beginning of the war —"
Trump: "You're not in a good position. You don't have the cards right now. With us, you're starting to have cards."
Zelensky: "I'm not playing cards. I'm very serious, Mr. President. I'm very serious."
Trump: "You're playing cards. You're playing with the lives of millions of people. You're playing with World War III."
Zelensky: “What are you talking about?”
Trump: "You're betting on World War III. And what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, the country that has supported you more than a lot of people would have liked."
Vance: “Have you said thank you yet?”
Zelensky: “Often. Even today.”
Vance: "No, during that whole meeting. You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October."
Zelensky: “No.”
Vance: "Say a few words of appreciation to the United States of America and the president who is trying to save your country."
Zelensky: "Please. Do you think that if you speak very loudly about the war, you will be able to..."
Trump: "He's not talking loud. He's not talking loud. Your country is in big trouble."
Zelensky: "Can I answer —"
Trump: "No, no. You've talked a lot. Your country is in big trouble."
Zelensky: “I know. I know.”
Trump: "You're not going to win. You're not going to win this battle. You have a very good chance of getting through this because of us."
Zelensky: “Mr. President, we remain in our country, we remain strong. Since the beginning of the war, we have been alone. And we are grateful. I thanked you.”
Trump demands Zelensky agree to ceasefire
Trump: "If you hadn't had our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks."
Zelensky: "In three days. I learned it from Putin. In three days."
Trump: "Maybe less. It's going to be very difficult to do business like that, I'm telling you.
Vance: “Just say thank you.”
Zelensky: "I have often said thank you to the American people."
Vance: "Accept that there are disagreements and let's settle them in court rather than trying to settle them in the American media when you're wrong. We know you're wrong."
Trump: "But you see, I think it's a good thing for the American people to see what's going on. I think it's very important. That's why I've continued to do this for so long. You should be grateful."
Zelensky: "I am grateful."
Trump: "You don't have the cards. You're buried there. People are dying. You're short on troops. That would be a damn good thing, and then you tell us, 'I don't want a cease-fire. I don't want a cease-fire, I want to leave, and I want this.' Look, if you can get a cease-fire right now, I'm telling you, take it so the bullets stop flying and your men stop getting killed."
Zelensky: "Of course we want to stop the war. But I told you that we must give guarantees."
Trump: "You say you don't want a ceasefire? I want a ceasefire. Because you'll get a ceasefire faster than you'll get a deal."
Zelensky: 'Ask our people what they think about a ceasefire.'
Trump: "It wasn't with me. It was with a guy named Biden, who is not a smart person."
Zelensky: "He's your president. He was your president."
Trump: “Excuse me. That was with Obama, who gave you sheets, and I gave you Javelins. I gave you the Javelins to destroy all those tanks. Obama gave you sheets. In fact, the statement says Obama gave sheets, and Trump gave Javelins. You have to be even more grateful because let me tell you, you don’t have the cards. With us, you have the cards, but without us, you have no cards.”
Trump says Putin respects him because of investigations during his first term
Vance, repeating a reporter's question: "She asks what would happen if Russia broke the cease-fire."
Trump: “What if there was a bomb? What if the bomb fell on your head right now? OK, what if they broke it? I don’t know, they broke it with Biden because Biden, they didn’t respect him. They didn’t respect Obama. They respect me. Let me tell you, Putin went through a lot with me. He went through a fake witch hunt… All I can say is this. He may have broken deals with Obama and Bush, and he may have broken deals with Biden. He may have. Maybe he did. I don’t know what happened, but he didn’t break deals with me. He wants to make a deal. I don’t know if we can make a deal.”
“The problem is I gave you the power (turning to Zelensky) to be a tough guy, and I don’t think you would be without the United States. And your people are very brave. But either you’re going to make a deal or we’re going to pull out. And if we pull out, you’re going to fight. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty, but you’re going to fight. But you don’t have the cards in your hand. But once we sign this deal, you’re going to be in a much better position, but you’re not going to act with gratitude at all. And that’s not a good thing. I’ll be honest. That’s not a good thing.”
“All right, I think we’ve seen enough. What do you think? This is going to be a great TV show. I can tell.”
