A "dictator" is now how President Donald Trump is referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a day after blaming the country for its ongoing war against Russia.
"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," President Trump said in a statement on his Truth Social platform. "... On top of this, Zelenskyy admits that half of the money we sent him is 'MISSING.' He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden 'like a fiddle.' A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left."
"Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the 'gravy train' going," President Trump added. "I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died."
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Several Republican Senators in Congress had mixed reactions to the president's comments, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — a relatively moderate member of the GOP — refusing to stake a claim and saying she will look into it herself.
"I would like to see that [Trump's comments] in context because I would certainly never refer to President Zelenskyy as a dictator," Murkowski told Scripps News. "I will look at the direct quote but I certainly would not call President Zelenskyy a dictator."
When also asked about President Trump's accusation that Zelenskyy is seemingly responsible for starting the war, Murkowski said she disagreed and that "it was absolutely Russia at Putin's directive."
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Other Republican lawmakers agreed with Murkowski, including Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, with the latter, however, stating that Ukraine does need to hold elections despite the ongoing war.
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"I wouldn't go that far," Hawley said in response to President Trump's "dictator" comments. "But they do need to have elections. I think the president's point that they suspended elections is not good. We had elections during the second World War — Britain had elections. They should have an election."
Nonetheless, President Trump's comments come just a day after senior U.S. and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia to discuss ending the war in Ukraine — without any representation from Kyiv present. Zelenskyy has insisted that he "will never accept" any peace deal that does not include Ukraine in the negotiations, and is demanding "real security guarantees" in order to come to the negotiating table with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"We are thankful for all the support, unity between USA — in USA around Ukraine support," Zelenskyy said earlier in the week. "... But there is no any leader in the world who can really make a deal with Putin without us about us."
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The Trump administration disagrees with the notion that it is only negotiating with Russia and refusing to include Ukraine in talks. Brian Hughes, White House National Security Council spokesman, said President Trump was not necessarily blaming Ukraine for the start of the war, and that the Trump administration is "in touch with the Ukrainians" as well.
"You can't help facilitate peace if you ignore one side of the equation," Hughes told Scripps News. "So we're talking to the Ukrainians. We're engaging with our European partners, but we also started in Saudi Arabia a dialog with the Russians, to which is simply a next step in a process towards the President's commitment to finding a pathway to peace and stability."
