The Trump administration’s efforts to mediate peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine were suspended on Friday after testimony between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Voldimia Zelensky.
The encounter led to a finally cancelled press conference, where Trump asked Zelensky to leave the White House and did not sign the rare earth mineral trade that granted access to Ukrainian minerals between the US and Ukraine.
Tensions escalated in the oval office after Zelensky challenged Vance. Instead, Zelenskyy was paying attention, noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin had broken other agreements in the past.
“What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you talking?” Zelenskyy said. “what do you mean?”
In response, Vance said: “I am talking about diplomacy that will end the destruction of your country.”
“I think it would be rude to see the President in his respect and come to the oval office to try and litigate this in front of the American media,” Vance told Zelensky. “Right now, you’re forced to draft military forces to the frontline because you’re in charge of recruiting them. We should be grateful to bring it to the President and bring it to this country.”
Trump also snapped to Zelensky, warning that Ukraine was in “big trouble” and was “World War II and gambling.”
Trump says Zelenskyy can “come back when he’s ready for peace” after a fiery White House exchange
President Donald Trump will meet Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky at the White House in Washington, DC on February 28, 2025 (Brian Snyder/Reuters)
Following the encounter, Trump announced a pause to peace negotiations, saying that Zelensky could return to the White House when he was “prepared for peace.” Additionally, Zelenskyy left the White House without signing a mineral contract.
“We feel our involvement gives him a great advantage in negotiations, so President Zelensky has decided that if America is involved, he is not ready for peace,” Trump told the Truth Social Post on Friday. “I don’t want any advantage, I want peace. He downplayed the United States in his precious oval office. He can come back when he is ready for peace.”
Zelenskyy also expressed his gratitude to the US for its support in a social media post about X.
“Thank you to America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit,” Zelensky said. “Thanks to @potus, Congress and the Americans. Ukraine needs justice and peace. We work precisely for that.”
Despite the fallout from the meeting, Zelensky told Fox News’ Brett Beyer on Friday that Ukraine-US relations could be saved.
Here’s more what happened at the White House this week:
Massive reduction
The Trump administration also sent memo directing agencies throughout the federal government to launch a “massive cut” plan by mid-March and build a reorganization plan.
The White House Administration and Personnel Administration sent me a memo Wednesday to prepare to cut staff by March 13th and share reorganization plans.
“The federal government is expensive, inefficient and indebted,” the memo said. “At the same time, there have been no consequences for the American people.”
According to the memo, some federal roles are exempt from orders that include “what is necessary to meet law enforcement, border security, national security, immigration enforcement, or public safety liability.”
First Cabinet Meeting
Trump held his first meeting with the second administration and cabinet members on Wednesday, where he shared plans to significantly cut the Environmental Protection Agency and retrieve military equipment left behind in Afghanistan.
Trump has revealed that EPA administrator Lee Zeldin is paying attention to 65% of federal employees from government agencies.
Trump, Vance’s Oval Office Spat Following World Leader Back Zelenxy
President Donald Trump convened his first cabinet meeting on Wednesday. (Getty Images)
“I spoke with Lee Zeldin and I think he’ll cut about 65% of people from the environment, and we’re going to speed up the process at the same time,” Trump said. “He had a lot of people who didn’t do their jobs. They were just occlusionists, and there were a lot of people who didn’t exist.”
Trump also said he wanted to reclaim the military equipment left by the US forces when he withdraws from Afghanistan, but he did not share plans for how the US would retrieve the equipment.
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“We’ve left billions of dollars, billions of dollars worth of equipment, brand new trucks,” Trump said Wednesday. “We see them showcase it every year, or they drive their little roads, where they have roads, and they drive around waving flags and talking about America… That’s all about the line. I think we should get a lot of that equipment back.”
According to a 2022 Department of Defense report, the Taliban seized most of the remaining $7 billion in equipment in Afghanistan during its withdrawal in August 2021.
Official US Language in English
Trump signed an executive order on Friday that mandates English as the official US language. The order eradicates previous duties from President Bill Clinton in 2000, requiring federal agencies and recipients of federal funds to issue language assistance to people who do not speak English.
Executive Orders allow each federal agency to determine whether it will provide its services in a language other than English.
The US is unusual in that it didn’t have an official language, but about 180 of the 195 countries around the world have official languages, a White House official told Fox News Digital.
Emma Colton and Brooksingman of Fox News contributed to this report.
Diana Stancy is a political reporter for Fox News Digital, covering the White House.
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