U.S. President Donald Trump reposted a claim on his social media network Truth Social on March 2 that President Volodymyr Zelensky "will have no choice but to concede" to Washington's terms to the mineral deal because Kyiv cannot survive the war without U.S. backing.
The reposted commentary, initially published by Michael McCune, comes after his public spat with Zelensky in the White House on Feb. 28 that upended plans to sign a natural resources treaty between the two countries.
"Trump played both sides liked a master chess player. In the end, Zelensky will have no choice but to concede because, without U.S. support, Ukraine cannot win a prolonged war against Russia," Trump reposted on his Truth Social network.
"Trump is actually protecting Ukraine without dragging the U.S. into war," the commentary read, presenting the deal as "genius."
The televised quarrel between Trump, his Vice President JD Vance, and Zelensky erupted after the Ukrainian president stressed the need for security guarantees and said that the Kremlin has repeatedly violated ceasefires, leading to the U.S. officials berating him as ungrateful and in a weak position.
Following the heated exchange, Trump said that Zelensky is "not a man who wants to make peace."
Trump told reporters on Feb. 28 that Ukrainian president was "looking for something that I'm not looking for" and again asserted that Zelenskyy wanted to "fight, fight, fight."
Zelensky pushed back on Trump's comments during an interview with Fox News asserting that Ukraine is "ready for peace but we need to be in a good position."
"We want peace... that's why I visited President Trump," Zelensky said.
In his post, Trump claimed that U.S. business interests in Ukraine would be enough of a security guarantee as Russia would not be able to threaten them "without triggering massive international consequences."
"(B)ecause attacking Ukraine would mean endangering American lives - something that would force the U.S. to respond."
A number of U.S. officials and Republican lawmakers are continuing their defense of Trump while hurling criticisms of Zelensky following the exchange, with some suggesting that Zelensky may have to resign.
During an interview with NBC News on March 2, House Speaker Mike Johnson took aim at Zelensky suggesting he "needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country."
White House national security advisor Mike Waltz also criticized Zelensky on March 2, stating that "We need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians and end this war."
Waltz, in a comment to far-right media outlet Breitbart News on March 1, compared Zelensky to "an ex-girlfriend that wants to argue everything that you said."
Dominic Culverwell
(Updated: )
