Virtually all political leaders — from both sides of the aisle and across the pond as well — have weighed in on the Oval Office dustup between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. Unsurprisingly, most of those in the Donald Trump Bad camp have attempted to lay things at the feet of Trump and Vance, conveniently overlooking the context of the discussions leading up to the meeting and the 30 minutes prior to the moment when things ratcheted up considerably.
As with most things these days, the incident provided a Rorschach test of one's views on the players involved. Naturally, the Sunday shows have guests discussing the meeting and its implications.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) joined NBC's "Meet the Press" to share his perspective on the matter, expressing surprise at Zelensky's behavior.
JOHNSON: I have participated in a lot of bilateral meetings in my time with heads of state and other dignitaries — there's always a certain protocol that goes along with this — I've never seen anything like President Zelensky's behavior there. He berated and interrupted his host...instead of expressing gratitude for the extraordinary help that the U.S. has provided his country — and effectively helped him stay alive and stay in power.
So, the way that that went down...was very disappointing. I hope and pray, frankly, that President Zelensky will come to his senses, come back to President Trump, express gratitude as he should...apologize for his behavior there, and accept this mineral rights deal. Because that is the best way for us to get to a point of peace over there in that region, and it's in the interest of both countries.
Johnson added that the aim of the Trump administration is to effect peace through strength, and the hope is that our allies in Europe will work with us to achieve that goal.
JOHNSON: I can tell you that we are...reexerting peace through strength. President Trump has brought back strength to the White House. We knew that this moment would come — we worked hard for it to come — and now it's here. But we need these parties...to go along with this. And we need President Zelensky to do what is necessary. This war has drug on far too long; he's lost hundreds of thousands of people, including women and children — we've got to bring an end to it. And I think our European allies are hoping that that is the case, and we are as well.
There is much speculation over whether things can be salvaged following Friday's events. But it's clear from Johnson's comments that he's hoping they can.