U.S. President Donald Trump's son, Donald Jr., news host Tucker Carlson, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and special envoy Steve Witkoff were involved in backchannel talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky's political rivals, Politico reported on March 18, citing undisclosed sources.
Politico reported back on March 6 that members of Trump's team led secret discussions with ex-President Petro Poroshenko's allies and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko as the Trump administration grew displeased with Zelensky.
These backchannel talks were part of an effort to make Zelensky more compliant and show that the U.S. has other potential partners in Ukraine, Politico reported.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
Witkoff is the only person named by three Ukrainian lawmakers and a Republican foreign policy expert for Politico who holds an official position in Trump's team. Formally a special envoy for the Middle East, Witkoff has been involved in U.S. talks with both Russia and Ukraine.
Carlson is a controversial, far-right host who repeatedly promoted anti-Ukrainian narratives and interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Trump Jr., the U.S. president's eldest son and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, has also often lashed out against U.S. support for Kyiv on social media.
Kushner is a businessman and investor who served as Trump's advisor during his first administration and is married to the president's daughter, Ivanka Trump.
According to the Politico sources, U.S. officials are convinced that Zelensky would lose elections if it were held today, despite numerous polls saying otherwise.
Trump has repeatedly called for elections in Ukraine and, at one point, dubbed Zelensky a "dictator without elections" before seemingly walking back on that statement.
These comments echo the Kremlin's propaganda about Zelensky's supposed illegitimacy. The Ukrainian Constitution does not permit elections under martial law, which was instituted at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
Recent opinion polls give Poroshenko and Tymoshenko slim chances of beating Zelensky if the vote was held today. One poll from February said that 44% of Ukrainians would vote for Zelensky in the first round, the highest number of all potential candidates.
The incumbent president was followed by ex-Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi with 21%, Poroshenko with 10%, and Tymoshenko with 6%.
Both Poroshenko and Tymoshenko acknowledged only public contacts with foreign partners, including the U.S., and rejected calls for holding elections during the war.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
(Updated: )
