During a speech at the FII Priority Summit in Miami Beach, President Donald Trump launched a scathing verbal attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This criticism came after Zelensky had previously criticized Trump online, causing a stir in Washington.
At the Saudi-backed conference, Trump referred to Zelensky as a ‘dictator’ and a ‘comedian’ who, in his opinion, had led his country into chaos. He questioned Zelensky’s ability to govern effectively while cities in Ukraine were being destroyed.
Expressing disbelief at Zelensky’s leadership, Trump raised concerns about the upcoming elections in Ukraine that the U.S. president is pushing for amidst the ongoing conflict in the country.
‘The only thing he was good at was playing Joe Biden like a fiddle,’ Trump added as he rambled about the war in Ukraine.
He said ‘a dictator without elections, Zelensky better move fast or he’s not going to have a country left.’
Moscow has also been calling for Ukraine to hold an election as it continues to wage war on the country.
Trump’s comments came one day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with and his Russian counterpart in Saudi Arabia.
It was the first such meeting since Russia’s invasion in 2022 of neighboring Ukraine and signaled a dramatic shift to normalize relations between the two countries.
Trump has said he plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin shortly.
President Trump speaking at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute Summit in Miami on Wednesday, February 19 where he took aim at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
After the U.S.’s initial talks with Russia, which excluded Kyiv or other European allies, Trump falsely blamed Ukraine for the war at a press conference on Tuesday, echoing Russian talking points.
The tit-for-tat escalated early Wednesday when Trump posted on social media slamming the Ukrainian leader.
Hours after Trump criticized him on social media, calling him a “dictator” in comments echoing the Kremlin, Zelensky shot back saying that the world’s most powerful leaders face the “choice” of being with the Kremlin or for peace.
“The future is not with Putin, but with peace. And it is a choice for everyone in the world — and for the powerful — to be with Putin or with peace. We should choose peace,” he said.
The president decried Zelensky as a ‘modestly successful comedian’ who talked the U.S. into spending billions 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,’ in a Truth Social post.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaking in Kyiv on February 19 as President Trump attacked him as a dictator and called for war-torn Ukraine to hold elections
As Trump went after Ukraine on Wednesday, he also took a moment to downplay the Russian efforts to undermine the U.S. elections.
During that same speech in Miami, Trump mocked the U.S. making a ‘big deal’ about Russia interfering in 2016 when Trump faced off against Hillary Clinton.
The president brought it up while blasting USAID, the agency which he claimed he ‘effectively eliminated.’ He suggested without evidence that the U.S. spent millions on voter turnout in India to ‘get somebody else elected.’
‘When we hear Russia spent about $2 in our country it was a big deal, right?’ Trump said.
It was a brief reference comparing USAID’s work to Russia’s hacking and internet troll efforts from the 2016 election.
The U.S. investigation into the interference led to dozens of indictments against Russian individuals and organizations.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaking after meeting with top Russian officials in Saudi Arabia on February 18
During his remarks on Wednesday, Trump also downplayed Russian election interference in the U.S.
Billionaire Elon Musk at the FII Institute summit in Miami where Trump was speaking on February 19
Trump revealed last week, that he spoke with Putin by phone as he pushes for a peace deal in Ukraine.
While the date for a meeting between the two leaders has not been set, Trump on Wednesday took a moment to thank Saudi Arabia for hosting the first talks this week between the U.S. and Russia.
Saudi’s ambassador to the U.S. Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud was seated front row for the event next to billionaire and DOGE head Elon Musk.
Trump had Musk stand up and wave to the crowd.
Also on hand was Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who held a White House role during the president’s first term but has stayed out of government this time around.
Kushner was instrumental in creating strong ties between the Trump White House and the Saudis.
