The majority of Republicans have supported US President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance after their dispute with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Senator Lindsey Graham suggested Zelensky should resign, stating that Friday’s confrontation had jeopardized future US military support for Kyiv; meanwhile, another Republican senator accused Trump of “embracing Putin.”
Zelensky was asked to leave the White House without signing a deal that would have involved collaborative development of Ukraine’s mineral resources.
On Saturday, Zelensky received a warmer welcome from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Downing Street, one day before a meeting with King Charles.
Zelensky also appealed on Saturday to the US to stand more firmly with Kyiv, expressing readiness to sign the minerals deal with Trump but requesting defined security guarantees.
Trump has recommended that Ukraine cede territory to Russia to halt its invasion and has instigated peace discussions between Washington and Moscow.
Before traveling to Florida following the Oval Office altercation with Zelensky, Trump informed reporters that the Ukrainian leader had “overplayed his hand.”
Trump commented, “Either we’re going to end it or let him fight it out, and if he fights it out, it’s not going to be pretty,” emphasizing, “Without us, he doesn’t win.”
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, present in the Oval Office during the meeting, told Breitbart News that Zelensky was preoccupied with fact-checking and likened him to an “ex-girlfriend.”
While Democrats were appalled by the confrontation with a US ally, the majority of Republicans in Washington supported Trump.
Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville remarked on X, “The best thing President Trump has done is expel that Ukrainian weasel from the WH.”
Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty posted on X, “The United States of America will no longer be taken for granted.”
However, other Republican members of Congress expressed less enthusiasm.
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican and a political thorn for Trump, expressed her disgust on X, “Our administration seems to be distancing itself from our allies and embracing Putin.”
Republican Representative Mike Lawler of New York called the meeting “a missed opportunity” for both the United States and Ukraine.
Fellow Rep Don Bacon of Nebraska said it was “a bad day for America’s foreign policy.”
Democrats harshly criticized the White House.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated, “Trump and Vance are doing Putin’s dirty work.”
Senator Chris Coons believed Zelensky deserved better, tweeting, “We owe him our gratitude for leading a nation on the front lines of democracy — not the public scolding he received at the White House.”
