President Trump attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday as ineffective and said it’s not important for the Kyiv leader to be at meetings with Russian officials to negotiate an end to the war.
Mr. Trump, in a radio interview with Brian Kilmeade, said Ukraine is being demolished but refused, despite goading by the Fox host, to lay blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin for initiating the destruction in February 2022. The president focused instead on Mr. Zelenskyy’s negotiating tactics.
“I’ve been watching for years, and I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards,” Mr. Trump said. “He has no cards. And you get sick of it.”
He added, “He’s been at the meetings for three years and nothing got done. So I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings, to be honest with you. … He makes it very hard to make deals.”
Mr. Trump’s hard line on Ukraine breaks sharply with the Biden administration’s decision to give billions of dollars in military aid to Kyiv as it battled Russian invaders. Many GOP lawmakers have also hailed Ukraine’s resilience in the face of the invasion or said U.S. aid can weaken a rival superpower in Russia.
Yet Mr. Trump has ramped up attacks on Mr. Zelenskyy, calling him a dictator and suggesting he started the war with Russia.
Mr. Trump has taken a warmer approach to Mr. Putin, calling him a willing negotiator.
“He wants to make a deal. And he doesn’t have to make a deal, because if he wanted, he’d get the whole country,” Mr. Trump said, continuing to fault Kyiv and his predecessor in the White House.
“I’m telling you, Biden said the wrong things. Zelenskyy said the wrong things. They got attacked by somebody that’s much bigger and much stronger,” Mr. Trump said.
The president wants Europe to take the leading role in defending its continent against Russia. He’s also floated a deal with Ukraine in which the U.S. would get coveted minerals in exchange for additional aid, though Kyiv is mulling it.
“President Zelenskyy is going to sign that deal, and you will see it in the very short term,” White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Mr. Trump continued to attack Mr. Zelenskyy following the radio interview.
“I’ve had very good talks with Putin, and I’ve had not such good talks with Ukraine,” Mr. Trump told governors at a White House meeting on Friday. “They don’t have any cards, but they play it tough.”
• Jeff Mordock contributed to this story.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.