While Zelensky was eager to answer questions about the security guarantees the US could provide in return for access to its natural mineral resources, Trump boasted about his election victory, claimed he alone could prevent a third world war, blamed Joe Biden for failing to stop the conflict sooner and heaped faint praise on Putin.
Trump, who had been watching silently, finally joined the fray to respond to Zelensky’s innocuous claim that the US would feel the influence of the war if it continued.
The mood began to turn when Trump made a quip about Zelensky’s clothing, a reference to the Ukrainian leader’s choice to not wear a suit until the war in his country ends.
But as Trump opined further on the causes of the war in response to questions from the press, distributing blame equally between the invaded and the invader, Zelensky’s face began to drop.
ANALYSIS: Vice president started a fight with Zelensky with a pre-rehearsed speech, then Trump joined the fray, Richard Hall writes.
.jpg?auto=webp&width=800)
