1. ‘I’ve never seen anything like…,’ Mike Johnson rips Zelenskyy's conduct towards Trump, claims ‘Putin is the aggressor’
‘I’ve never seen anything like…,’ Mike Johnson rips Zelenskyy's conduct towards Trump, claims ‘Putin is the aggressor’ BySumanti Sen Mar 03, 2025 09:37 AM IST Share Via Copy Link House Speaker Mike Johnson has blasted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his behaviour towards President Donald Trump.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has blasted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his behaviour towards President Donald Trump. He also warned that Russia’s Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted.
Mike Johnson rips Volodymyr Zelenskyy's conduct towards Trump (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Johnson (R-La.) said he was appalled by the public spat in the Oval office between Zelenskyy, and Trump and Vice President JD Vance. He suggested that “someone else needs to lead” Ukraine if its leader doesn’t “come to his senses” apologise to the US president.
“I have participated in a lot of bilateral meetings in my time with heads of state and other dignitaries,” Johnson told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, February 2. “I’ve never seen anything like President Zelenskyy’s behavior there.”
“He berated and interrupted his host instead of expressing gratitude for the extraordinary help that the US has provided his country, and effectively helped him stay alive and stay in power,” Johnson added. “The way that that went down was very disappointing.”
Johnson notably has a mixed record on supporting Ukraine. He previously voted against tranches of aid to it. Last year, he brought up a roughly $60.8 billion Ukraine aid package for a vote on the House floor.
Talking about negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, Johnson said, “President Trump is the only figure on the entire globe who is powerful enough to bring both of these parties to the table. But President Zelenskyy went in and blew it up. And it is such a great disappointment for everyone.”
“We need to get him back to the table, we need to get Ukraine to express gratitude, of course, for all that we’ve done for them,” the House leader added.
Meanwhile, on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Johnson slammed Putin as an “old-school communist” and a “former KGB agent” who is “not to be trusted.” “We have to bring about an end to this war in Ukraine. Putin is the aggressor,” Johnson said. “It is an unjust war. We have been crystal clear about that.”
“The way I view this is that China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are engaged in a new axis powers, and they are not on America’s side,” he added. “Let’s be crystal clear about that. You have to walk circumspectly in these perilous times on the world stage.”
Trump’s approach has been very different from former president Joe Biden’s. The commander-in-chief has positioned himself as a more neutral intermediary between Russia and Ukraine, instead of strictly backing the latter.
“President Trump said very clearly, ‘Trust but verify,’ ” Johnson said, referring to talks between the US and Russia to end the war. “He is trying to be the change agent to broker a peace and an end to this conflict.”
Some Republicans have expressed their uneasiness over how Trump and Vance approached Zelenskyy at the White House, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski saying she was “sick to my stomach” over it.
“I think Senator Murkowski’s view on this is plainly wrong,” Johnson said. “The person who walked away from the table … was President Zelenskyy.”
“President Zelenskyy, instead of showing gratitude — he interrupted and berated his hosts at a very perilous time for his country. He should have been anxious, I think, to enter into this agreement,” he added, referring to the mineral rights agreement
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