Breaking down the heated exchange between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance at the White House.
Donald Trump and JD Vance accused Volodymyr Zelenskyy of insufficient gratitude, leading to a public spat.
Zelenskyy corrected Trump on the year of Russia’s invasion and questioned Vance about diplomacy.
The meeting highlighted tensions, with Zelenskyy emphasising Ukraine’s position and thanking the US for support.
Zelenskyy corrected Trump on the year Russia invaded his country and asked Vance, pointedly, whether he had ever visited Ukraine.
World leaders argue. What was unusual about the Oval Office flare-up on yesterday was that Trump, Vance and Zelenskyy sparred in public, in a meeting before television cameras that was broadcast and live-streamed before millions.
“What was pulled away … was that formal, courtly behaviour pattern” of the closely choreographed performances viewers ordinarily see, said Caroline Goyder, who trains politicians and business leaders to speak with authority.
The decision not to use an interpreter, the power imbalance among the parties, and Zelenskyy’s “warrior energy” after three years of conflict, all contributed to the Washington meeting boiling over, body-language analysts said.
Trump is often polite with leaders, but relations with Zelenskyy, never particularly warm, have been souring.
Trump has claimed, falsely, that Zelenskyy is a dictator and that Ukraine started the war, matching the Kremlin line. Zelenskyy has said Trump lives in a “web of disinformation”.
Goyder likened the exchange to a performance in which Trump and Zelenskyy were acting out different scenes.
Trump, she said, was in a court scene: “He’s in a safe place, his country is separated by oceans, he’s in a place where he can re-centre quickly, he’s in a place of stability”.
Zelenskyy, by contrast, was in a battlefield scene, wearing military attire, carrying the weight of the conflict into the room: “He’s got to get things done, he’s dynamic, he’s fast”.
There was a moment of levity. When Brian Glenn, chief White House correspondent for Real America’s Voice, asked Zelenskyy why he chose not to wear a suit, Trump intervened, saying the Ukrainian President was “dressed beautifully”.
But later, Trump said Zelenskyy held “no cards” and accused him of “gambling with World War III”.
To Darren Stanton, who studies and comments on body language and behaviour, Zelenskyy appeared “quite angry from the outset” and got “caught up in his own ego”.
When Vance is talking, Zelenskyy moves from leaning forward to leaning back with his arms crossed, showing a “dramatic change in inner emotion”.
“He felt he wasn’t getting his points across or wasn’t allowed to,” Stanton said.
The meeting contrasted sharply with others Trump has hosted since returning to office. He has hosted the leaders of Israel, Japan, Jordan, France, and Britain in recent weeks.
Trump typically deploys “bone-crusher” handshakes, “power pats” and a “chin thrust,” Stanton said, and sits with feet flat on the floor and his fingers steepled to project authority.
Visiting leaders have taken pains to flatter Trump, mirroring his body language and echoing his rhetoric on tough negotiations, trade deals and winning.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, asked by Trump on Friday if Britain could defend itself against Russia, offered a “masking smile”.
French President Emmanuel Macron deviated from this norm when he placed his hand on Trump’s forearm while correcting his misstatement on money Europe had given to Ukraine.
It was a power move, Stanton said: “The nonverbal equivalent of saying, ‘Shut up, I’m talking’.”
Macron is an effective power player in part because he conveys a sense of “inner ease”, Goyder said. “He’s good at maintaining that sense of lightness and ease.”
US President Donald Trump (left) welcoming Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House in Washington, DC, prior to their talks. Photo / Handout, Ukrainian Presidential Press-Service
Zelenskyy also corrected Trump.
Vance had said it was time for diplomacy. Zelenskyy asked what diplomacy was possible with Russian President Vladimir Putin, given his record of breaking agreements.
When he noted that Russia invaded, occupied, and annexed Crimea in 2014, Trump interrupted to say it was 2015. (Zelenskyy was correct.) Vance accused him of being “disrespectful” and ungrateful.
Some world leaders behave in ways they ordinarily wouldn’t when visiting the US, Stanton said. “Any red flag that’s different behaviour from their baseline we can always attribute to the fact that they’re overwhelmed or intimidated.”
Trump’s interactions with Putin, in contrast, show his respect for the Russian leader, Goyder and Stanton said.
His body language shows he perceives Putin as a “fellow silverback”, meaning an older man with power, Goyder said.
Trump has refrained from deploying his “bone-crusher” handshake on the Russian leader, she said, and they typically “match and mirror” each other’s behaviour.
Zelenskyy was interviewed after the meeting on Fox News by chief political anchor Bret Baier. He thanked Trump and the American people but defended his approach in the Oval Office.
“I think that we have to be open and very honest, and I’m not sure that we did something bad,” he said.
“There are things where we have to understand the position of Ukraine and Ukrainians. I think that is the most important thing because we are partners, we are very close partners.”
Zelenskyy later wrote on X that he was “very grateful to the US for all the support”, and again thanked Trump, Congress and the American people.
“Our relationship with the American President is more than just two leaders; it’s a historic and solid bond between our peoples,” he said.
“American people helped save our people. Humans and human rights come first. We’re truly thankful. We want only strong relations with America, and I really hope we will have them.”
