House Speaker Mike Johnson has admonished Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s behavior toward President Trump on Friday while also warning that Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin can’t be trusted.
Johnson (R-La.) — saying he was aghast at the cringe-worthy public Oval Office spat between Trump, Zelensky and Veep JD Vance — left open the possibility that “someone else needs to lead” Ukraine if its leader doesn’t “come to his senses” and apologize to the commander in chief.
“I have participated in a lot of bilateral meetings in my time with heads of state and other dignitaries,” Johnson, 53, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “I’ve never seen anything like President Zelensky’s behavior there.
“He berated and interrupted his host instead of expressing gratitude for the extraordinary help that the US has provided his country, and effectively helped him stay alive and stay in power,” the Republican speaker. “The way that that went down was very disappointing.”
On Friday, Zelensky, 47, got into a heated back-and-forth with Trump, 78, in front of the cameras after pushing back against key aspects of the president’s plan to end the war between Ukraine and Russia.
The heated confrontation took place after Zelensky questioned Vance’s insistence that Ukraine conduct diplomacy with Russia despite Putin’s lengthy track record of violating agreements.
Trump later booted Zelensky from the White House, and the two sides declined to sign the mineral rights agreement that they had been expected to during that visit.
Johnson has a mixed record on supporting Ukraine, having voted against tranches of aid to it in the past, then last year putting his speakership at risk by bringing up a roughly $60.8 billion Ukraine aid package for a vote on the House floor.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) torged ahead with a motion to oust him from his leadership position in response, something that Democrats ultimately helped shoot down.
The GOP House speaker has since publicly stated that there is no political appetite in the lower chamber for another massive package to assist war-torn Ukraine.
As for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, “President Trump is the only figure on the entire globe who is powerful enough to bring both of these parties to the table,” Johnson said. “But President Zelensky went in and blew it up. And it is such a great disappointment for everyone.
“We need to get him back to the table, we need to get Ukraine to express gratitude, of course, for all that we’ve done for them,” the House leader said.
Johnson was adamant that GOPers have been tough on Putin, too, calling it “absurd” for anyone to suggest that Trump or Republicans are on the Kremlin’s side and reiterating that Russia “provoked the war.”
On CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Johnson blasted Putin as an “old-school communist” and a “former KGB agent” who is “not to be trusted.
“We have to bring about an end to this war in Ukraine. Putin is the aggressor,” Johnson said. “It is an unjust war. We have been crystal clear about that.
“The way I view this is that China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are engaged in a new axis powers, and they are not on America’s side,” he said. “Let’s be crystal clear about that. You have to walk circumspectly in these perilous times on the world stage.”
In a stark departure from the Biden administration’s policies, Trump has maneuvered to position himself as a more neutral intermediary between the two warring countries rather than strictly backing Ukraine.
“President Trump said very clearly, ‘Trust but verify,’ ” Johnson noted, referring to talks between the US and Russia to end the war. “He is trying to be the change agent to broker a peace and an end to this conflict.”
Some Republicans have expressed queasiness over Trump’s and Vance’s approaches to Zelensky on Friday.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said that she was “sick to my stomach” over it.
“I think Senator Murkowski’s view on this is plainly wrong,” Johnson said. “The person who walked away from the table … was President Zelensky.
“President Zelensky, instead of showing gratitude — he interrupted and berated his hosts at a very perilous time for his country. He should have been anxious, I think, to enter into this agreement,” Johnson added, referring to the mineral rights agreement.
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