U.S. President Donald Trump made headlines this week with comments suggesting that Ukraine was responsible for initiating the ongoing conflict with Russia. He went on to label Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “a dictator without elections,” which drew significant backlash from congressional Democrats and some Republican Party members.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis emphasized, “Clearly, Vladimir Putin is responsible for this war. His decision has resulted in the murder, rape, torture, and kidnapping of untold numbers of Ukrainians. He owns responsibility for this war. I don’t know how more plainly it can be stated.” Meanwhile, Senator John Kennedy reiterated the belief that Russia instigated the war, labeling Putin as “a gangster with a black heart.”
In contrast, Senate Majority Leader John Thune refrained from criticizing Trump, stating, “The president speaks for himself. What I want to see is a peaceful result, a peaceful outcome. And I think right now, there’s a negotiation going on, and let’s see where that ultimately leads.” Republican Senator Josh Hawley acknowledged that Trump has also blamed Russia and has threatened sanctions should they fail to engage in negotiations.
The conflict between Trump and Zelenskyy arises as U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday to meet with Zelenskyy. Notably, Ukraine was excluded from the peace talks that commenced this week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Trump dismissed Ukraine’s concerns regarding their absence from negotiations, asserting, “You never should have started it.” The war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has led to the tragic loss of nearly half a million Ukrainian civilians and at least 124,000 Ukrainian soldiers, according to U.S. officials.
Following Trump’s remarks that seemed to blame Zelenskyy for the war’s onset, Zelenskyy took to social media to declare that Trump exists in a “disinformation space” that is influenced by Russia. Trump then responded on Truth Social, stating, “Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and ‘TRUMP,’ will never be able to settle. A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.”
Hawley supported Trump’s call for elections in Ukraine, stating, “The suspension of elections in Ukraine is a bad deal. Zelenskyy should hold elections. He’s the elected leader of the country. Our president is right — they haven’t had elections in a long time, and they are basically under martial law. That’s not good when you claim to be defending democracy. You need to practice it.” However, Democrats argued that Trump’s comments jeopardize America’s image on the global stage.
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin expressed outrage, saying, “This is outrageous. It’s outrageous if not humorous that the president does these sorts of things, goes off on wild tangents and says things that are clearly false.” Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin added, “It is what we all feared, which is he understands incorrectly what’s happening in the span of history and is blaming the head of a country that has been invaded by an autocratic regime; a democracy was invaded. And however you want to solve it, however you want to negotiate, is one thing; but he put down his cards.”
