Democrats said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is the “only winner” from Friday’s fiery exchange between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sen. Mark Kelly, Arizona Democrat, said Mr. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance were trying to “look tough” when they berated Mr. Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, insisting the Ukrainian was not expressing enough gratitude for America’s support when he said Mr. Putin could be trusted to honor the terms of any peace deal.
“The only winner in that exchange is Putin, who’s a criminal, who’s killing hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians,” the Arizona Democrat said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “It was a sad day for our country. It was a dumpster fire of diplomacy.”
Mr. Kelly said Mr. Zelenskyy has shown “habitual gratitude” to the United States for its support.
The high-profile clash has further strained relations between the United States and Ukraine, and has led some Republicans to cast doubt on Mr. Zelenskyy’s political future.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, have since suggested Mr. Zelenskyy might need to resign to advance negotiations to end the war.
Meanwhile, Democrats have rallied behind Mr. Zelenskyy and accused Mr. Trump of doing Moscow’s bidding.
On Sunday, Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said they regret voting to confirm Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida to become secretary of state after watching the Republican parrot what they called Mr. Trump’s pro-Russia talking points.
“It is absolutely shameful what is happening right now,” Mr. Murphy said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “The White House is becoming an arm of the Kremlin.”
Mr. Murphy, a member of the Senate foreign affairs committee, said the White House laid the groundwork for the meeting by espousing “Kremlin talking points” and “pretending Ukraine started this war.”
“It appears as if America is trying to align itself with dictators – that Donald Trump wants to ave our closest relationships with despots all around the world because that makes it easier for him to transform America into a kleptocratic oligarchy where Elon Musk and Donald Trump rule and steal from the American people,” Mr. Murphy said. “If we were aligned with democracies, that could be harder.”
Mr. Van Hollen described the meeting as a “despicable display of bullying” by Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance against someone who “wants peace more than anybody.”
“But he also wants to make sure that it’s a durable, sustainable, peace,” Mr. Van Hollen said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“This was a total disaster for those of us who believe in American foreign policy where we respect our allies and our friends and we stand up for democracy and freedom around the world,” he said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.