US Senator Lindsey Graham called for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to step down after a Friday meeting at the White House with US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance that was a "complete utter disaster."
“Zelensky is either going to have to fundamentally change or go," the senator from South Carolina told reporters on Friday. "I can’t believe most Americans, after what they saw today, would want to be partners with Zelensky."
Graham, who previously served on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, has been known for his strong support of Kyiv in its defensive war against the Kremlin.
Selling the Ukrainian cause
Graham said Friday that he had spoken with Zelensky that morning and told him, “don’t take the bait. President Trump was in a very good mood last night.”
“He was terrible at Munich, Zelensky, and I think he has made it almost impossible to sell to the American people that he’s a good investment,” he went on.
As such, his Friday statements were a significant break in rhetoric for him.
"The way he handled the meeting, the way he confronted the president was just over the top," said Graham. "Ukraine is an important ally that fought like tigers. I don’t want Putin to win, I want to help you train, but it’s hard to help people who seem unable to realize the moment they’re in.”
The 'disastrous' meeting
The stunning blow-up between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House came after weeks of frustration by Trump and his top aides who saw the Ukrainian leader as an obstacle to their goals of quickly ending the war, restoring ties with Moscow and sealing a potentially lucrative minerals deal, multiple sources familiar with the matter said.
The US president has long taken an adversarial stance toward Zelensky and Ukraine. But the divide between the Ukrainian leader and the Trump White House has ballooned in recent days as talks over a much-anticipated minerals deal for joint development of Ukraine's natural resources got bogged down.
The extraordinary moment that unfolded in front of TV cameras on Friday marked a potential turning point in Washington's relationship with Moscow.
In recent weeks Trump has already upended decades of US foreign policy by publicly siding with the Russian leader, saying he "trusts" President Vladimir Putin is sincere in his desire to end the war - a belief that most Western officials, including intelligence officials, rebuke.
The conversation in the Oval Office on Friday began with the usual pleasantries but began to go downhill after Vice President JD Vance accused Zelensky of being ungrateful for US support. Minutes later it escalated into an unprecedented shouting match where Trump and Vance berated the Ukrainian wartime president.
Two White House officials said there was no attempt to ambush Zelensky and that they thought Friday's visit would be a win for Trump, with Zelensky expected to sign the minerals agreement.
However, the outburst did not come out of the blue, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Frustration has mounted inside the White House in recent weeks, particularly as Trump officials attempted to negotiate the minerals deal with Ukraine, the sources said.
In recent days, the exasperation among the White House officials risked derailing Zelensky's visit. "I don't see why an invitation would make sense," one White House official told Reuters on Wednesday, when the Ukrainian president appeared to waver on signing the deal.