President Donald Trump set the tone for a tense Oval Office showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by criticizing his outfit the minute he arrived at the White House.
Trump’s first words to Zelensky as they shook hands at the White House door were “Ooh, you’re all dressed up,” he says, before turning to the assembled cameras and bellowing out: “He’s all dressed up today!”
Zelensky was wearing a black sweater with the trident symbol of his country, black cargo pants and boots. Since Russia illegally invaded his country in 2022, he has eschewed suits and ties for clothes which are close in appearance to his country’s military uniforms.
Financial Times chief Kyiv correspondent Christoper Miller said in Dec. 2022 that the Ukrainian premier told him that the choice is a tribute to his troops. “Zelensky told me he wouldn’t go back to wearing a suit and tie and shaving his beard until Ukrainian victory in the war. Although the beard might stick around after,” he wrote on X after Zelensky met with then president Joe Biden.
Attacking Zelensky for not wearing a suit has long been a MAGA obsession and one of Trump’s enthusiastic supporters then picked up the theme in the Oval Office. Among the reporters in the Oval Office was Brian Glenn, an anchor on Real America’s Voice—and Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Green’s lover—who asked Zelensky, “Do you even own a suit?”
“You’re at the highest level in this country’s office and you refuse to wear a suit. Just want to see, do you own a suit? A lot of Americans have problems with you disrespecting this office,” Glenn said. Vice-president JD Vance could be seen laughing at the question.
Zelensky replied, “I will wear a costume after this war will finish, maybe something like yours, maybe something better, we will see, maybe something cheaper.”
That was one of the lighter moments of a disastrous, ill-tempered Oval Office meeting in which Trump berated the Ukrainian leader and Vance also intervened to attack Zelensky and pat Trump on the arm in support.
Zelensky pushed back fiercely. “We don’t just need a ceasefire. We’ve done that before — Putin violated it 25 times, including during your presidency, Mr. President,” he told Trump.
At one point Vance pointed his finger at Zelensky. “Do you think that it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?” he said.
After Zelensky and Vance tore lumps out of one another, an irate Trump jumped in. “If you didn’t have our military equipment, this war would’ve been over in 2 weeks! You have to be thankful, you don’t have the cards,” Trump barked in front of stunned reporters.
He also shouted that not signing a peace deal would mean that Zelensky was “gambling with the lives of millions of people” and “gambling with World War III.” Zelensky left the White House without a press conference which had been scheduled and was due to travel to European capitals, whose shocked leaders will have seen the Oval Office encounter by the time he arrives.
