Watch the full exchange in the video below
An extraordinary meeting unfolded in the Oval Office Friday as President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy got into a heated exchange, with Trump at one point berating Zelenskyy for “gambling with millions of lives” and suggesting his actions could trigger World War III.
The last 10 minutes of the nearly 45-minute engagement devolved into a tense back and forth between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy — who had urged skepticism about Russia’s commitment to diplomacy, citing Moscow’s years of broken commitments on the global stage.
It began with Vance telling Zelenskyy, “Mr. President, with respect. I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.”
Zelensky tried to object, prompting Trump to raise his voice and say, “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people.”
“You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have,” Trump said.
It was an astonishing display of open antagonism in the Oval Office, a setting better known for somber diplomacy.
Re-watch the full moment below and read more about what happened before and after here:
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