President Trump spoke to reporters on the White House South Lawn following a heated exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday.
Before departing the White House to return to his Florida home for the weekend, the President spoke to reporters wearing his signature red MAGA hat.
The Gateway Pundit reported on the fireworks that erupted in the Oval Office on Friday, leading to Zelensky being kicked out of the White House.
Vance called Zelensky out for being disrespectful to the President, and President Trump blasted him for “gambling with World War III.”
WATCH:
A scheduled press conference with President Trump and Zelensky was abruptly canceled, and Zelensky was kicked to the curb after he disrespected President Trump in the Oval Office.
Ukraine had previously agreed to Trump’s requested mineral rights deal with the US to compensate Americans for the hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money Joe Biden gave them over the last four years, but the agreement was not officialized Friday.
A White House spokesperson confirmed on background that the deal was not signed.
President Trump began his press gaggle before boarding the Marine One helicopter by touting his accomplishments and several world leaders flocking to the White House. However, his meeting with Zelensky earlier “didn’t work out exactly great,” the President said.
When asked by a reporter what Zelensky needs to do to restart talks, President Trump said, “He’s got to say, I want to make peace. He doesn’t have to stand there and say about Putin this, Putin that, all negative things. He’s got to say, I want to make peace. I don’t want to fight a war any longer. His people are dying. He doesn’t have the cards, just so you understand that.”
“He wants to come back right now, but I can’t do that,” the President added. He further called for an “immediate ceasefire,” noting that “if he fights it out, it’s not going to be pretty.”
Watch below:
Trump: We had a meeting today, as you know, with President Zelensky, and I would say it didn’t work out exactly great. From his standpoint, I think he very much overplayed his hand. We’re looking for peace. We’re not looking for somebody that’s going to sign up a strong power and then not make peace because they feel emboldened, and that’s what I saw happening. I’m looking for peace. We’re not looking to go into a 10 year war and play games. We want peace.
It was just my impression that if we do that, if we sign up, he’s looking for something that I’m not looking for. He’s looking to go on and fight, fight, fight. We’re looking to end the death. 2,000, approximately, people died this week, young Ukrainians and Russians and somebody would say, Why do you care about Ukraine and Russian soldiers? I care about them. I Care about everybody. We’re not doing that. Now, if we don’t do anything, he’s going to have to make peace, but he’s dealing with a very weak set of cards. If we sign, he’s dealing with a very strong set of cards, and then he doesn’t want to make peace. So, that’s where we are. It’s very simple. I’m not looking to get into anything protracted. I want immediate peace. President Putin is going to want to make, and he wants to make— he wants to end it. And you saw what I saw today. This is a man that wants to get us signed up and keep fighting. And we’re not doing that, not for this country.
The post WATCH: President Trump Takes Questions Before Departing White House, Slams Zelensky: “He’s Got to Say, ‘I Want to Make Peace’” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.