Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy weighed in on the explosive Trump-Zelenskyy exchange in a lengthy recap Saturday, comparing the tense White House meeting to reality TV.
In a nearly eight-minute video posted on X, the outspoken commentator broke down the incident and described the argument between the world leaders as "surreal."
"If you're just here for the pizza reviews, keep it moving," Portnoy advised his listeners. "But … I had to talk about this meeting with Zelenskyy. … I posted on my Twitter [Friday]. I said [it was] the most surreal thing I've ever seen in politics. Felt like I was watching Bravo TV.
"Just fascinating to see world leaders basically arguing with each other with, honestly, the fate of like World War III … kind of in the balance, in some respects."
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Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy recently reacted to the Feb. 28 Trump-Zelenskyy exchange. (Getty Images; @stoolpresidente via X)
Portnoy went on to describe the meeting as being "civil and friendly, right up to the end." The social media personality pointed out the contrast between those who supported President Donald Trump and those who supported the Ukrainian leader.
"If you're anti-Trump, you're basically saying, ‘This is the worst day in the history of America,’" he explained. "We're basically the same as Russia and a dictator and Putin and evil. … And if you're pro-Trump, you're like, ‘Finally, somebody sticking up for American citizens, American taxpayers.’"
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Portnoy said he's "on Trump's side more than I'm on Zelenskyy's side here," though he expressed sympathy for how Ukrainians have been treated by Russia and suggested Trump's approach to diplomacy may be effective in the end.
"This previous administration, Biden has [called] Putin a killer, a dictator, all the things Zelenskyy says," the businessman explained. "And what has that gotten us? Hundreds of billions of dollars given to Ukraine, and they're really no closer to ending this war."
President Donald Trump, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the White House Friday in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/ Mystyslav Chernov)
Portnoy also noted that Zelenskyy's decision to wear a black sweatshirt instead of a suit to the White House also likely rubbed Trump the wrong way.
"You can say whatever you want about Trump. He takes signs of disrespect personally," Portnoy explained. "He's very much about, you know, respecting other things. So, Zelenskyy shows up, and he's wearing his sweatshirt and his customary outfit, which is his way of essentially saying, ‘I’m at war. I don't have time to play politics or any other stuff.'
"For me, this is just stupid. We get you're at war, but you're coming to meet a new administration," he added. " And it's just a sign of disrespect not to show the same level of respect (in) the Oval Office that Trump clearly thinks it deserves."
Portnoy went on to say that Ukraine has "been through hell and back," and that he does not dispute Putin's horrors but that Ukraine "need[s] the United States" and should "show some deference."
"They should show some deference to or thank you to the American taxpayers," Portnoy continued. "We don't have to continually foot this bill. … But I respect or understand Trump not wanting to vilify Putin. The last administration did it every single chance they could get. It got us nowhere. Trump made it very clear he wants diplomacy. He wants to end the debt. He wants to end this war.
"I don't necessarily have the answers, but I think Trump and Vance handled this as well as they could," Portnoy concluded. "Like, we're not going to just get steamrolled by Zelenskyy at the expense of getting a deal done. And if that means we have to throw a couple flowers at Putin, so be it."