President Donald Trump backtracked on his heated rhetoric toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he likened to a “dictator” last week, as the U.S. acts as a mediator to end the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
When asked by a reporter whether he still believes Zelensky is a dictator, Trump played coy, acting like he didn’t know that he made the comment.
“Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that,” Trump said on Thursday, before moving on to the next question.
The president’s remark came during a joint briefing with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was the latest European leader to visit the White House this week. French President Emmanuel Macron preceded Starmer.
Trump previously called Zelensky a “dictator without elections,” referring to Ukraine’s 2024 presidential election that was not held because of the embattled country’s martial law that has been in effect since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Monday marked the three-year anniversary of the war.
“He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden ‘like a fiddle.’ A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” the Republican posted on Truth Social.
Trump also suggested that Ukraine, not Russia, was responsible for starting the war after Zelensky complained that Ukraine was left out of early negotiations between the U.S. and Russia. Trump later conceded that Russia invaded Ukraine.
With his latest comments, it appears the president is working to mend his diplomatic relationship with Zelensky.
“We want to work with him, President Zelensky, and we will work with him,” Trump told reporters. “I think the president and I actually have had a very good relationship. It maybe got a little bit testy because we wanted to have a little bit of what the European nations had.”
Trump claimed European nations got “their money back” from Ukraine, while the U.S. provided aid that would not be recouped. Starmer corrected him, saying most U.K. aid to Ukraine was a “gift.” Macron said the same for France earlier this week.
Both Ukraine and the European Union were excluded from the negotiating table between the U.S. and Russia. Key EU leaders are planning to host a summit next week to discuss a new military aid package to Ukraine pending a peace deal.
Zelensky will be visiting the White House on Friday, where he is expected to finalize an agreement that would give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. In exchange, the U.S. would protect Ukraine from future Russian aggression.
Trump jumpstarted peace negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month, following through on his campaign promise to end the war. Trump has repeatedly boasted about his good relationship with Putin and has said the same about Zelensky, despite their heated exchanges.
Asked whether he thinks Putin can be trusted, Trump seemed confident that his Russian counterpart would keep his word and stick to his end of the deal.
“Trust and verify, let’s call it that,” Trump said. “You have to verify, because you never know what’s going to happen. I know a lot of people you’d say, ‘No chance that they would ever deceive you,’ and they’re the worst people in the world.”
“You never know what you’re getting,” he added. “No, I have confidence that if we make a deal, it’s going to hold.”