Trump calls Zelenskyy a ‘dictator’ as he tries to pressure Kyiv to accept deal to end war
PBS News Hour - Segments
PBS NewsHour
4.1 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 19 February 2025
⏱️ 3 minutes
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the NewsHour. President Donald Trump today denounced Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky as a dictator as he tried to pressure Keev to accept the terms of a deal to end the war with Russia. It comes a day after Mr. Trump falsely claimed Ukraine started the war. Allie Rogan has the latest. |
| 0:20.4 | Today, a war of words between two supposed allies. |
| 0:24.6 | President Donald Trump lashing out online against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. |
| 0:29.6 | In a scathing paragraph filled with falsehoods, Trump called the wartime leader a dictator without elections, |
| 0:35.6 | and that he better move fast or he is not going |
| 0:39.1 | to have a country left. Elections in Ukraine have been delayed since April of last year due to the |
| 0:46.3 | Russia-Ukraine war, which enters its fourth year next week. Trump's comments stirred a global reaction. |
| 0:53.1 | German Chancellor Olaf Schultz, who's hoping to be re-elected this Sunday, |
| 0:57.0 | said calling Zelensky a dictator is, quote, dangerous and false. |
| 1:02.0 | Trump also accused Zelensky of duping the U.S. into sending billions of dollars in military aid. |
| 1:14.6 | Unfortunately, Trump lives in this disinformation space. The post came just hours after Zelensky publicly criticized Trump for repeating Russian talking |
| 1:20.6 | points. |
| 1:21.6 | In particular, the notion that Ukraine bears responsibility for Russia's invasion. |
| 1:28.2 | And just yesterday in Saudi Arabia, talks between the U.S. and Russia resumed, a stark shift |
| 1:33.6 | in a U.S. policy that for years sought to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin. |
| 1:42.2 | All of this definitely does not have a positive impact on Ukraine. |
| 1:45.0 | I think Putin and Russia are really happy because they're involved in the discussions. |
| 1:50.0 | And yesterday there were signals that they are the victims. |
| 1:53.0 | For his part, Putin praised the outcome of yesterday's meeting and said he looked forward to meeting President Trump soon. |
| 2:00.0 | The goal of our negotiations was restoration of Russia. meeting and said he looked forward to meeting President Trump soon. |
| 2:05.9 | The goal of our negotiations was restoration of Russia-U.S. relations. |
| 2:11.5 | Without increasing the level of trust between Russia and the U.S., it is impossible to solve many issues, including the Ukraine crisis. |
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