Former U.S. President and current Republican nominee Donald Trump criticized President Volodymyr Zelensky at a campaign rally on Sept. 25, accusing Zelensky of refusing to "make a deal" with Russia and "making little nasty aspersions" against Trump.
The comments come as Zelensky visits the U.S. to rally support for Ukraine's global peace summit among world leaders and present his five-point victory plan to American leadership.
Zelensky has reportedly not scheduled any meetings with Trump.
"The president of Ukraine is in our country and he's making little nasty aspersions toward your favorite president, me," Trump said during a campaign speech in the U.S. state of North Carolina.
"We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal: Zelensky."
At a rally the previous day, Trump vowed to get the U.S. "out" of the war in Ukraine if elected president.
Trump's rhetoric against Zelensky and U.S. support for Ukraine has grown harsher in recent days. He has claimed that Zelensky wants Democrats to win the upcoming presidential election and referred to him as "the greatest salesman on earth."
Republican leaders on Sept. 25 also accused Zelensky of interfering in the election by visiting an ammunition factory in U.S. President Joe Biden's hometown of Scranton, Pennyslvania, a hotly contested battleground state.
House Speaker Mike Johnson demanded that Zelensky fire Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Makarovka, for her role in arranging the tour.
The Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee also announced he was opening an investigation into the Biden-Harris administration's alleged misuse of government funds.
Zelensky criticized Trump's plans for an end to the war in an interview with the New Yorker earlier this week. He called Trump's running mate, Republican Senator J.D. Vance, "too radical" and said the war should not end at Ukraine's expense.
Sonya Bandouil
