National security adviser Mike Waltz offered a first-person account of the moment he told what he described as a “still argumentative” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky it was time to leave the White House after a historically contentious Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump.
Both sides retreated to separate rooms after the press departed, and Waltz said during a Saturday interview with Fox News that he, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other top officials then “advised the president — pretty much unanimously advised the president — that after that insult in the Oval Office, we just do not see how that can move forward, that any further engagement would only go backwards from this moment on.”
As CNN has reported, Waltz was then dispatched to deliver the message that Zelensky was no longer welcome.
Asked by Fox News whether Zelensky seemed to recognize what had happened, Waltz said, “No, he didn’t. Frankly, his team did. His ambassador and his adviser were practically — I mean, they were practically in tears wanting this to move forward. But Zelensky was still argumentative.”
Waltz said he told Zelensky, “Time is not on your side here. Time is not on your side on the battlefield. Time is not on your side in terms of the world situation, and, most importantly, US aid and the taxpayers’ tolerance is not unlimited.”
Zelensky, he added, “has not gotten the memo that this is a new sheriff in town. This is a new president, and we are determined to take a new approach towards peace.”
Remember: Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelensky during the meeting for a perceived lack of gratitude, with the Ukrainian leader pushing back on a number of points as the conversation grew increasingly tense. Here’s how the diplomatic breakdown unfolded.
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