The internet has been abuzz over Marco Rubio’s serious demeanor during the tense meeting between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
As discussions became heated over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Secretary of State Rubio appeared to sink into the couch, drawing amusement from many online viewers.
‘It’s like when Mommy & Daddy are arguing at the dinner table,’ one user commented on X, as the photo of Rubio circled the internet.
‘The contrast in body language between Vance and Rubio here,’ another user pointed out.
As tempers flared on all sides of the office amid the showdown, Trump laid into Ukraine’s president and warned he was ‘gambling with World War III.’
‘High school kid in the principal’s office,’ another joked, as Rubio seemed to wish he were anywhere else.
Caught amid the shouting match, Rubio’s demeanor had one user suggesting: ‘He’s like, “we’re so in the middle of this.”‘
Some observers jokingly suggested that Rubio seemed like he wished the couch would just swallow him up to provide an escape from the intense exchange, with one person imagining Rubio thinking, “if only this couch was a hedgerow.”
‘He couldn’t sink further into the sofa,’ another wrote.
The tense shouting match that erupted over the future of the Russia-Ukraine war left Secretary of State Marco Rubio sinking into the couch
Pictured: The Oval Office showdown that ended after Trump and Vance barked at the Ukrainian president
‘It’s like when Mommy & Daddy are arguing at the dinner table,’ one user commented on X, as the photo of Rubio circled the internet
His expression of doom and gloom has users asking, ‘Was it worth it, little Marco?’
‘Rubio sold his soul for a fancy title, once called Trump a con, now he’s a lapdog. Spineless,’ another user declared.
Rubio, meanwhile, was watching the leaders at each other’s throats with Trump threatening to abandon Ukraine completely if Zelensky didn’t agree to his peace terms and accused him of being ungrateful.
Both men were on the defensive as they tried to talk over one another. At one point, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, who was seated to the side in the Oval, buried her face in her hands.
After the contentious showdown, Trump announced he asked Zelensky to leave.
‘It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace,’ he said in a post on Truth Social.
The two men were scheduled to participate in a press conference later Friday, but that was canceled.
Zelensky was seen exiting the White House about two hours after his arrival.
All this leaves the future of the Ukraine in question.
The day started off pleasant enough with Trump greeting Zelensky at the West Wing door. He even joked the Ukrainian president ‘dressed up’ for the occasion.
But their Oval Office meeting devolved at the 40-minute mark after Vice President JD Vance accused Zelensky of not being grateful.
That set off Trump. Both men demanded Zelensky say ‘thank you.’
Trump was repeatedly shouting over Zelensky as he tried to defend his position.
It started when Trump got pressed on historic Russian domination of its neighbors and repositioning the U.S. toward Russia.
‘If I didn’t align myself with both of them, you’d never have a deal,’ Trump explained. ‘You want me to say really terrible things about Putin and then say: ‘Hi, Vladimir. How are we doing on the deal? It doesn’t work that way. I’m not aligned with anybody. I’m aligned with the United States of America.’
Then Vice President JD Vance jumped in.
The day started off pleasant enough with Trump greeting Zelensky at the West Wing door. He even joked the Ukrainian president ‘dressed up’ for the occasion
Vice President JD Vance injected into the conversation to criticize Zelensky
‘I will respond to this. So look, for four years the United States of America, we had a president who stood up the press conferences and talked tough about Vladimir Putin, and then Putin invaded Ukraine and destroyed a significant chunk of the country,’ said Vance.
‘The path to peace and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy.
Then a fight over history ensued, as Zelensky ran through Ukraine’s 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea. After Zelensky mentioned 2015, Trump jumped in: ‘I was not here.’
‘But during 2014 till 2022 … people have been dying on the contact line.’
Vance accused Zelensky of bringing in dignitaries to his country on a ‘propaganda tour.’
‘Do you think that it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?’ Vance berated him.
Zelensky tried to respond, but that only got Trump’s ire up.
‘Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel, because you’re in no position to dictate,’ he said.
‘You’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position,’ Trump told Zelensky, after last week calling him a ‘dictator’ and blaming Ukraine for starting the war.
Yelling with his face getting red, Trump intoned: ‘You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now … You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people.’
As tensions rose, Vance and Trump continued to berate Zelensky for not showing gratitude to Trump and the United States.
‘Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who’s trying to save your country,’ Vance demanded.
Zelensky got a moment to try to counter, saying, ‘In our country, staying strong, from the very beginning of the war, we’ve been alone, and we are thankful.’
Trump contradicted him, telling him he hadn’t been alone.
‘We gave you, through this stupid president, $350 billion we gave you military equipment,’ he said, overstating the amount of military hardware.
Trump said Zelensky’s men are ‘brave,’ but then told him, ‘If you didn’t have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks.’
President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting in the Oval Office became a shouting match
‘It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this,’ Trump said.
That brought Vance back to demanding thanks.
‘Just say thank you,’ Vance told him.
‘I said it a lot of times,’ Zelensky responded.
The blowup in the Oval Office continued before Zelensky was ejected from the peace talks.
Shortly after the argument, Trump joked: ‘This is going to be great television, I will say that.’
As the Ukrainian president made his exit, Trump gave him a pat on the shoulder and another White House staffer whispered: ‘This is going to be big.’
