US President Donald Trump has been so critical of Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelenskyy of late that he minced no words calling the latter "a dictator". The US President who "is losing his patience" with Kyiv called Zelenskyy a "moderately successful comedian" who talked the US into "spending $350 Billion Dollars to go into a war that couldn’t be won."
While many accuse Trump of parroting the Kremlin's claims and accusations against Zelenskyy, reports are that Trump is willing to toss Ukrainian demands and needs off the table.
But, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has explained the reason for Trump's wrath. In an interview with Catherine Herridge for X, Rubio cited the reason for Trump being "very upset" with Zelenskyy and that has something to do with the Ukrainian President's flip-flop over rare mineral rights deal.
Holy shit. Trump says Zelenskyy “should have never started” the war with Russia.
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) February 18, 2025
Putin started the war by invading Ukraine. He is literally spreading Putin talking points from the podium. What a disgraceful asshole.
pic.twitter.com/EdNAJn46Cm
"President Trump is very upset at President Zelensky – and rightfully so," he said. Rubio added that he personally was upset over the conversations the US had with Zelenskyy over the mineral agreement as the latter "flip-flopped" on the issue. The US, he said, was in a joint venture with Ukraine and had convinced Zelenskyy of the same.
"We want to be in a joint venture with you – not because we’re trying to steal from your country, but because we think that’s actually a security guarantee," Rubio said, adding that the US wants to get back some of the money it had spent to supporting Ukraine.
He said Zelenskyy initially agreed to the deal, stating that he just had to run it through his legislative process. "I read two days later that Zelensky is out there saying: I rejected the deal,” Rubio said. "That’s not what happened in that meeting."
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Rubio said he saw no gratitude on the part of Ukraine and Zelenskyy who even went out there to accuse Trump of "living in a world of disinformation". He called the remarks very counterproductive. Rubio is not the first one to warn Zelenskyy about his remark.
"And I don’t need to explain to you or anybody else Donald Trump’s not – President Trump’s not the kind of person that’s going to sit there and take that. He’s very transparent. He’s going to tell you exactly how he feels. And he sent a message that he’s not going to get gamed here. He’s willing to work on peace because he cares about Ukraine, and he hopes Zelenskyy will be a partner in that and not someone who’s out there putting the sort of counter-messaging to try to hustle us in that regard. That’s not going to be productive here," Rubio said.
Trump, apparently, was so angered by the Zelenskyy's "disinformation" remark that he wanted to respond directly, which led to his Truth Social post, CNN quoted a close aide. "It’s a frustration. There is a strong and legitimate feeling that this brutal war has to stop and that this pathway is being diminished through Zelenskyy’s public statements,” a second White House official told CNN.
Though the duo met after the elections, Trump has always been critical about Zelenskyy, and even accusing him of being on a "gravy train" with US assistance during the Biden administration.
