Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week he expects the return of former President Donald Trump to the White House to be manageable for his country and something he is “not afraid” of, Bloomberg News reported.
Zelensky made the comments following a catastrophic two weeks for current President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, beginning with a poor performance at a debate against Trump that triggered rumors Zelensky had begun to worry for Biden’s health. During Biden’s most recent meeting with Zelensky at the annual NATO summit last week, Biden referred to the Ukrainian president as “President Putin.”
American establishment media have speculated that a second Trump presidency would be far slower in offering millions of dollars to the Ukrainian government to continuing fighting Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s “special operation” to overthrow Zelensky, who he has branded a “Nazi” despite his status as one of the world’s few Jewish heads of government. Trump himself has suggested that he would more carefully monitor how American taxpayer money is being spent in Ukraine and credited Zelensky with being a great “salesman,” but has shied away from directly criticizing the Ukrainian leader, with which he enjoyed a friendly relationship during his first term in office.
“I think Zelensky is maybe the greatest salesman of any politician that’s ever lived. Every time he comes to our country, he walks away with $60 billion,” Trump said at an event in June.
In the comments reported by Bloomberg, Zelensky expressed little concern of a changing of the guard in Washington.
“If Mr. Donald Trump becomes president, we will work,” he said. “I am not afraid of that.”
The comment is somewhat of a change to Zelensky’s disposition a year ago, when he told the Wall Street Journal that Biden had been “more helpful to us than President Trump,” but conceded that he did not need as much help from Trump because there “was no full-scale war” against his country at the time.
“In a situation like this, when there is support, you are afraid of changes,” Zelensky admitted. “And to be honest, when you mention a change of administration, I feel the same way as anyone … You want changes for the better, but it can also be the other way around.”
Zelensky’s resignation to potentially working with Trump again follows the return of visible frustration between himself and Biden, a tension that marked Biden’s first months in office. Prior to the Russian full-scale invasion, Biden chose to lift Trump-era sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project that would have greatly expanded the Russian natural gas industry’s access to European markets. Zelensky erupted in an angry interview with the Washington outlet Axios, expressing disbelief that Biden would lift the sanctions and correctly predicting they would precipitate a larger war.
“It still seems to me that Nord Stream 2 … we understand that this is a weapon, a real weapon, and I speak openly about it,” Zelensky said at the time. “A weapon in the hands of the Russian Federation, and it is not very understandable, I feel, and definitely not expected, that the bullets to this weapon can possibly be provided by such a great country as the United States.”
Biden and Zelensky patched up their relationship following Putin’s “special operation” in February 2022, but Biden’s recent public flubs have reportedly concerned Zelensky. Axios reported during the NATO summit that Zelensky was concerned about Biden’s health and ability to continue in office. He made no public statements to that effect, but did concede in one public appearance in Washington, “Let’s be candid and frank: Everyone is waiting for November. The whole world is looking to November, and truly speaking, Putin awaits November too.”
The NATO summit concluded with Biden referring to Zelensky as “President Putin,” which the Ukrainian leader has since dismissed as a gaffe.
“It’s a mistake. I think the United States gave a lot of support for Ukrainians. We can forget some mistakes, I think so,” he told reporters later.
Zelensky does appear to be preparing for the possibility that a Trump presidency will mean America will commit far less money to his war effort. Reports began surfacing following the Trump-Biden debate that Zelensky is considering direct talks with Russia in an attempt to end the war, which has technically been ongoing for a decade. The Ukrainian president hosted a “peace summit” in Switzerland in June, widely panned due to the absence of any Russian representatives, and has expressed interest in hosting a second one.
On Monday, Zelensky appeared to confirm the reports that he is interested in talks, stating, “I believe that representatives of Russia should be present at the second Peace Summit.” He suggested “everyhting will be ready for the second summit” by November, the month of the U.S. presidential election.
Zelensky also extended sympathy to Trump and his family following the failed assassination attempt against the former American president on Saturday.
“I am appalled to learn about the shooting of former U.S. President Donald Trump at his rally in Pennsylvania. Such violence has no justification and no place anywhere in the world. Never should violence prevail,” Zelensky wrote in a message published on social media. “I extend my wishes for strength to everyone who is horrified by this event. I wish America emerges stronger from this.”
Trump and Zelensky maintained friendly relations during Trump’s first term, which coincided with Zelensky, a professional comic actor, obtaining a surprise victory in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election. Trump recalled their friendship in June.
“And, I like him. You know on the impeachment hoax number one, he was very good. He said, ‘No, the President didn’t threaten me at all,’” Trump said. “He could have been a Grand Stander and said, ‘I was threatened.’”
Zelensky was a central character in Democrats’ first attempt to impeach Trump out of office.
Trump stood accused of improperly pressuring Zelensky to investigate Biden and son Hunter over suspected corrupt acts in Ukraine.
Zelensky has repeatedly and consistently denied that Trump acted inappropriately.
Zelensky’s refusal to corroborate Democrats’ claims that Trump pressured him into an unethical investigation ultimately doomed the impeachment attempt.
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