Just hours after being unceremoniously booted from the White House by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tried to salvage what was left of his diplomatic credibility in an interview with Fox News Channel's Bret Baier. And boy, was it a doozy.
Zelenskyy kicked things off with the expected platitudes, thanking President Trump and the American people for their support throughout Ukraine's three-year war with Russia. “I was always very thankful from all our people. You helped us a lot from the very beginning... you helped us to survive. We are strategic partners, even in such tough dialogue,” Zelenskyy said—sounding like someone ready to capitulate to Trump to get this deal done.
But the winds changed when Baier pressed him on whether he owed Trump an apology for the Oval Office debacle. Instead of showing an ounce of contrition, Zelenskyy doubled down: "I respect president and I respect American people, and... I think that we have to be very open and very honest and I'm not sure that we did something bad.”
President @ZelenskyyUa thanks the US and Americans for their support of Ukraine + his response to President Trump saying he disrespected him and the Vice President and whether he owes an apology to President Trump-- #SpecialReport pic.twitter.com/eDKL6JKuqF
— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) February 28, 2025
Not sure you did something bad? Is getting thrown out of the White House after a shouting match with the leader of the free world not a big enough clue? Ironically, Zelenskyy also expressed that some of the issues ought to have been discussed privately—which is exactly what JD Vance said.
“I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media,” Vance said.
When asked about the public spat, Zelenskyy at least managed to state the obvious: "I think this kind of spat is—I mean, it's not good for both sides anyway. And I'm very open, but I can't change our Ukrainian attitude to Russia, and I don't want to—they are killers for us. Americans are the best of our friends, Europeans are the best of our friends.”
BRET BAIER: "Do you think the public spat in the Oval Office in front of the media served Ukrainians well today?"
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 28, 2025
ZELENSKYY: "This is not good for both sides." pic.twitter.com/cu1NSF6oey
The ultimate question, as Baier rightly asked, is how does this all end? Zelenskyy's response was nothing short of stunning: "I think Europe is ready to help us with financing a big army... now we want just to find a place for our biggest strategic partner. We don't have enough weapon to push them out and we don't see now very big volume of new support from the United States, with all due respect, again. With security guarantee, we will be ready.”
This shows a breathtaking lack of self-awareness. Trump has long made it clear he has no interest in being Ukraine’s bank to fund an endless war that Ukraine can’t win. As Trump said in the meeting, without the aid and military equipment from the United States, the war would have ended in two weeks—and not to Ukraine's benefit.
One thing is for sure: This is not 2022, and Americans are no longer interested in spending billions of dollars to fund Ukraine’s war effort, and yet he still wants more money.
Can this relationship be fixed? Zelenskyy claims it can: "Yes, of course, because it's relations more than two presidents. It's historical relations, strong relations between our people. And that's why I began to thank your people from our people. And this is the most important. And of course, thankful to president, and of course to Congress, but first of all to your people. Your people helped to save our people. People, the first. Human rights, the first. This is very, very important. And we are thankful, and sorry for this. I mean this. We wanted very much to have only strong relations. And I'm very calm that we will have it.”
BRETT BAIER: "Do you think your relationship with President Trump after today can be salvaged?"
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 28, 2025
ZELENSKYY: "Yes, of course." pic.twitter.com/igmWAo5gXK
So, what happens next? If Zelenskyy really wants to make a deal, when can we expect it? Trump has reportedly already left Washington for the weekend, so nothing will likely happen soon. But that gives Zelenskyy some time to buy a suit and return to the White House, showing the proper respect and getting a deal done.
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