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UPDATE (Feb. 28, 2025, 2:18 p.m. ET): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's meeting at the White House on Friday with U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance devolved into a heated exchange in which Trump and Vance berated Zelenskyy. A White House official told NBC News that a deal on mineral rights between both countries was not signed during the visit.
The WH official says the agreement that would have given the US valuable rights to Ukrainian rare earth minerals was not signed.
When Donald Trump first started referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “dictator,” it generated some rather pointed humor: Perhaps, some observers joked, if Zelenskyy really were a dictator, the American president might like him more.
This week, however, the Republican tried a new approach: pretending he didn’t say what everyone already heard him say. NBC News reported:
Asked by a reporter if he stands by his earlier comments calling Zelenskyy ‘a dictator,’ Trump demurred. ‘Did I say that?’ Trump asks. ‘I can’t believe I said that. Next question.’
There was a three-second gap between the question and the answer, suggesting the American president was unsure how best to respond.
I’m not in a position to say whether Trump was literally unaware of his own choice of words, but if he’s genuinely unsure of his recent rhetorical record, I’m also happy to lend a hand.
It was last week when Trump, for the first time, published an item to his social media platform that referred to his Ukrainian counterpart as a “Dictator without Elections.” Hours later, the Republican repeated the line at a public event.
Two days later, Trump was given a chance to walk it back. He did not. Three days after that, he was given another chance to walk it back. He again declined.
Then a reporter asked the American president whether he would use an upcoming deal-signing on mineral rights to apologize to Zelenskyy for the “dictator” comment.
“I think we’re going to have a very good meeting tomorrow,” Trump replied, adding, “I have a lot of respect for him. We’ve given him a lot of equipment and a lot of money, but they have fought very bravely.”
And therein lies the rub: When the American president was basically switching sides in the conflict and aligning the United States with Russia, Trump was only too pleased to label the Ukrainian president a “dictator.” But with Zelenskyy en route to the White House, where he’s expected to endorse an agreement over rare earth minerals, Trump was content to play the role of Steve Urkel and effectively ask, “Did I do that?”