Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a historically staunch defender of Ukraine, scrutinized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following his heated shouting match with President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.
Trump and Vance got into the explosive showdown in the Oval Office Friday after Zelenskyy accused the U.S. leaders of not truly “engaging in diplomacy” since it had not stopped Russia from continuing its aggression against his nation. Following the incident, Graham told Fox News that Zelenskyy “obliterated” the U.S.’s efforts to increase its diplomatic relations with Ukraine and that he may be “irredeemable” in the eyes of the American people.
“Everything I and many have been working for to try and get a new relationship with the United States around our critical minerals deal [that] is beneficial to both of us was completely obliterated today,” Graham said. “I met with Zelenskyy this morning, I urged him to be on message, be grateful, be thankful, we’ll talk about details and security guarantees later. Keep it up, keep it positive. It was an absolute, utter disaster,” Graham said. “The question for me is, is he redeemable in the eyes of Americans?”
“Most Americans, after what they saw today, would not want Zelenskyy to be their business partner, including me and I’ve been to Ukraine nine times since the war started. I met with him this morning. President Trump [who] I talked to last night was very upbeat about the deal,” the senator continued.
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The U.S. and Ukraine finalized a deal for mineral extraction and had planned to sign the agreement at the White House. After the meeting in the Oval Office, Trump canceled the signing of the deal and the scheduled joint press conference between the two world leaders.
Graham praised Trump and Vance’s performance during the meeting and suggested that Ukraine may need a new leader for the two countries’ relationship to move forward. The senator said Trump “gave a masterclass” in how a leader should stand up for their nation.
“Zelenskyy’s got a chip on his shoulder. Every European leader applauds him for standing up to Trump. All I can say is a missed opportunity doesn’t even begin to explain it and Zelenskyy is either gonna have to fundamentally change or go,” Graham said. “I can’t believe most Americans, after what they saw today, would want to be partners with Zelenskyy. Ukraine’s an important ally, they’ve fought like tigers, I don’t want Putin to win. I want to help Ukraine, but it’s hard to help people who seemed unable to realize the moment they’re in and President Trump handled it in a fashion [where] if I’m China, I’m Iran, I’m any would-be adversary, I’d be worried about [him] right now. He gave a masterclass in how to stand up for America.”
Trump told Zelenskyy he was being “disrespectful” to the U.S. and the American people by being critical of its response to the Russia-Ukraine war. The president said in a Truth Social post that Zelenskyy “is not ready for peace” because U.S. involvement grants him a “big advantage in negotiations.”
“You don’t have the cards right now. With us, you’ll have the cards. You’re playing cards. You’re gambling with a lot of lives and millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III, you’re gambling with World War III and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to this country. It’s backed you far more than a lot people say it should have,” Trump told Zelenskyy during the meeting.
Graham said he is unsure whether the damage created between the U.S. and Ukraine can be repaired and expressed hope that Zelenskyy will apologize for the events that occurred in the Oval Office.
The South Carolina senator has backed Congress spending billions of dollars of taxpayer money on Ukraine, going so far as to call it “the best money [the U.S. has] ever spent” in a May 2023 statement. The statement caused outraged Russian officials to issue an arrest warrant against Graham.
Graham even called for the assassination of Russian President Vladimir Putin in a March 2022 statement.
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