Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has few — if any — advocates in President Trump’s inner circle as the pair’s souring relationship threatens to tank Kyiv’s standing in peace talks with Russia.
The ever-tenuous relationship between the two leaders descended into open hostility this week after Ukraine’s president rejected an initial US proposal to sign over 50% of his country’s rare earth elements to the US as repayment for military aid — while rebuking Trump’s emissaries for meeting Russian diplomats without him.
Trump retaliated by blasting Zelensky as a “Dictator,” erroneously claiming the Ukrainian had a 4% approval rating and even suggesting he had triggered Russia’s February 2022 invasion, with Zelensky, in turn, accusing the leader of the free world of living in a “disinformation space.”
While the deterioration between Washington and Kyiv appears sudden, one source familiar with White House discussions told The Post Thursday: “It’s nothing new to me.
“I heard months ago it’s time for an election and new leadership,” added this person, who said the public breakdown was a long time coming and that anti-Zelensky feeling is widespread within the West Wing.
The “real question is, has anyone told [Trump] they really, really like him?” the source said of the Ukrainian president.
A second source close to Trump concurred with the assessment and suggested that “the best case for [Zelensky] and the world is that he leaves to France immediately.”
A White House official, meanwhile, privately confided their anti-Zelensky views, telling The Post that “like the Pope, I’m no fan of someone who bans churches” — referring to Zelensky’s August law that outlawed religious organizations linked to the Russian Orthodox Church, which has close relations with the Kremlin.
That official added that the Republican Party “is a big tent on Ukraine” and posited that there are “people in the White House [who] have a traditional GOP view on Zelensky” — although this person did not suggest any examples.
Ukraine’s former advocates at the White House, including national security adviser Mike Waltz, have stepped in behind Trump to rip Zelensky and hold their fire on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Trump’s administration obviously doesn’t like Zelensky and does everything to let everyone know that,” said a Ukrainian political analyst and active duty soldier who asked not to be identified by name.
“Recent remarks by the US president show that he wants Ukrainian elections ASAP and Zelensky replaced by someone more negotiable. This can be some who Trump and his allies trust: Military leader or businessman.”
Washington insiders say there’s no obvious contender who Trump would prefer if Ukraine were to hold elections, as Trump and his allies like Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk insisted this week should happen.
