On Monday, March 3, Donald Trump warned that the U.S. would “not put up with” Volodymyr Zelensky’s rhetoric much longer, as the former president prepared to meet with his top advisors following a tense confrontation with the Ukrainian leader in the Oval Office.
“This is the worst statement Zelensky could have made, and America won’t tolerate it for much longer,” Trump posted on social media, referring to comments by the Ukrainian president suggesting that the war with Russia was far from over. “This guy doesn’t want peace as long as he has America’s backing.”
Trump also criticized European leaders who met with Zelensky in London over the weekend for emergency talks, claiming they “stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S.”
“Probably not a great statement in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
These remarks followed a heated meeting between Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Zelensky at the White House on Friday, which erupted into a rare public dispute. Trump and Vance accused Zelensky of ingratitude toward U.S. military aid, while Zelensky insisted on security guarantees from Washington as part of any ceasefire deal.
The meeting ended with Zelensky being asked to leave the White House, and a key agreement granting the U.S. preferential access to Ukraine’s mineral resources was left unsigned.
Trump is now consulting his top advisors to determine the next steps on Ukraine, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told reporters on Monday. White House officials have not confirmed reports by Axios suggesting that Trump is considering cutting all military aid to Kyiv following the confrontation.
Meanwhile, European leaders, who have proposed sending peacekeepers to enforce a ceasefire while seeking continued U.S. support, gathered in London on Sunday to contain the fallout.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Monday about the London meeting. Rubio “confirmed the United States is ready to negotiate to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict and will continue working with the UK towards peace in Ukraine,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.
