Varying reactions from U.S. officials, lawmakers emerge following Zelensky-Trump clash

U.S. lawmakers and officials voiced varying reaction following a heated exchange between President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump on Feb. 28, that culminated in the Ukrainian delegation being ordered to leave the White House.

The meeting ended without an agreement after a 45-minute press briefing escalated into a heated exchange over U.S. aid to Ukraine and the conditions of a potential peace deal with Russia.

Trump later ordered his officials to tell the Ukrainian officials to leave the White House, despite protest from the Ukrainian delegation.

Elon Musk, tapped by Trump to be the appointed head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said on X that "Zelensky destroyed himself in the eyes of the American people."

Musk, who is often critical of support for Ukraine, reportedly threatened to shut off Starlink in Ukraine unless Kyiv agreed to a minerals deal, a claim he later denied.

Musk's comments echo those of senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham who told Fox News after the exchange in the White House that he was "proud of President Trump."

"(Trump) wants to end the war and Zelensky felt like he needed to bait Trump in the Oval Office," Graham said, added that Zelensky "is either going to have to fundamentally change or go."

Graham, a staunch supporter of Trump, has previously visited Ukraine and voiced support for Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast during a visit to Kyiv on Aug. 12. Graham previously called on the Biden administration to support Russia's inclusion in the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.

Democratic lawmakers expressed outrage at the combative meeting between the two leaders, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declaring that the Trump administration was "doing (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s dirty work."

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that Trump and Vance's actions during the meeting were "disgraceful and downright un-American."

"Once again, they've sided with a murderous thug, Putin, over our democratic ally, Ukraine," Sheheen added.

Mixed reactions from officials within the U.S. come amid overwhelming support for Zelensky from Ukraine's European allies.

Following the heated exchange, French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized that Russia is the aggressor in its war against Ukraine.

"There is an aggressor, which is Russia, and an attacked people, which is Ukraine," Macron told reporters in Portugal. "We must thank all those who helped, and we must respect those who have been fighting since the beginning," he added.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on X that "Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader."

"It's up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge," Kallas added after the exchange.