President Donald Trump on Thursday questioned whether he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator” despite using the descriptor multiple times.
“Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that,” Trump told reporters Thursday in the White House‘s Oval Office when pressed on his and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer‘s difference of opinion regarding whether Zelensky is a “dictator.”
Trump has criticized Zelensky for suspending elections amid Ukraine’s three-year war with Russia, which is permitted under Ukraine’s Constitution. That criticism increased after Zelensky said Trump is living in a “misinformation” space in response to Trump’s repeated assertions that Ukraine started the war and that the United States has spent $350 billion since the start of the conflict. The estimated number is closer to half of that.
In a Truth Social post on Feb. 19, Trump railed against Zelensky as a “dictator without elections.” At the time, Zelenksy refused a deal with the U.S. to give up access to the country’s rare earth minerals. However, Trump’s change in tone came just as he and Zelensky reached a mineral agreement that Trump wants, and Zelensky is expected at the White House Friday to seal it.
Trump used the same amnesia strategy when asked by another reporter before his bilateral meeting with Starmer about his comments during Wednesday’s inaugural Cabinet meeting that the European Union was being formed to “screw” the U.S.
“Did I use the word that you said? That bad word,” he said.
Another notable takeaway from the bilateral meeting was Starmer’s diplomacy before what is expected to be a difficult discussion with Trump.
Before the meeting, Trump accepted King Charles III‘s invitation for an “unprecedented” second state visit, an invitation extended through a letter delivered by Starmer.
“That’s quite a signature, isn’t it?” Trump said. “Beautiful. A beautiful man, a wonderful man, and we appreciate … I’ve known him, gotten to know very well, actually, first term and now second term.”
Trump was asked about his relationship with Starmer, who, despite his personal liberal politics, has established a rapport with the president. That process started, in part, after a phone call Starmer made to Trump after the first assassination attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania, before the pair met during the transition at Mar-a-Lago and spoke over the phone again after Trump’s inauguration.
“He loves his country, and I love our country,” Trump said.
However, many reporters’ other questions about Trump centered on Ukraine before Zelensky’s trip to the White House on Friday.
Trump was pushed on the prospect of U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine as he negotiates a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia as well as the rare earth minerals agreement with Zelensky as compensation for the U.S.’s support three years into Russia’s war in Ukraine. He is also simultaneously negotiating an energy and natural resources arrangement with Russia.
Starmer intends to amplify French President Emmanuel Macron‘s appeals from Monday for security guarantees, given concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin may simply ignore a peace deal.
“The deal, if we get it, is going to be hugely important. I don’t think it would’ve happened if the space hadn’t been created for it by yourself,” Starmer told Trump. “But if there’s a deal in, we’ve got to make sure it’s a deal that lasts, that is not temporary, that lasts, and that’s why we need to make sure that it’s secure.”
Trump similarly told reporters the U.S. would try to recuperate as much of Ukraine’s territory as possible, but Ukrainian NATO membership was impossible.
US AND UKRAINE WILL SIGN ‘VERY BIG’ MINERALS DEAL, TRUMP CONFIRMS
In addition to Ukraine and Russia, Trump and Starmer are expected to discuss their economic relationship amid Trump’s threat of tariffs and the potential of cooperation on artificial intelligence.
In comparison to Starmer’s warm relationship with Trump, the prime minister did not appear to hesitate to contradict Vice President JD Vance’s scrutiny of free speech in the United Kingdom, a complaint Vance underscored this month during his address to the Munich Security Conference.