Dante
"The Libido for the Ugly"
During the contentious meeting, Mr. Trump and Vance took an aggressive and sometimes belittling tone with Zelenskyy after he expressed doubt over whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would honor a potential peace agreement given that he had repeatedly violated ceasefire deals, including the Minsk agreements, leading up to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
We had Graham out there screaming about Trump being disrespected and standing up for America. Standing up for America? It's about Trump's obsession with being seen as a Genius Deal Maker - no matter how poorly any deal is, it's always a win for him. Zelensky was an invited guest. They ended up disrespecting and playing tough guy games with an invited guest, who like Winston Churchill during WWII, has kept his nation 's morale and spirits up during the devastating and lonely times of war.
In the room where it happened: Trump advisers recall what led up to Oval Office confrontation
President Trump's advisers on Saturday morning were still uncertain how to salvage a mining deal with Ukraine, which had been intended as a key first step in a Trump strategy to eventually secure a ceasefire and peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv.
What began as a formal meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Friday — a confidence-building step in a path toward peace between Russia and Ukraine — devolved into a feud, with finger-pointing and accusations.
The president's closest advisers — stunned after the debacle in the Oval Office — huddled around the Cabinet Room's oblong table for lunch, sources familiar with the events told CBS News.
Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles were joined by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina as the group rehashed what had just transpired.
They shared disbelief over what one source characterized as Zelenskyy badgering the president. Another official said that, had Zelenskyy kept his disagreements behind closed doors, the blowup wouldn't have happened.