In his words: Trump’s rhetoric about Zelenskyy and Putin has evolved
Jul 14, 2025, 7:37 AM | Updated: Sep 24, 2025, 4:06 am
U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly said during his campaign that, if elected to a second term, he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine “in 24 hours.” But since his Jan. 20 inauguration, the road to a peace deal has been fraught with changing dynamics between the U.S. leader, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump’s rhetoric toward both Zelenskyy and Putin has evolved during his second term in the White House.
Trump initially was conciliatory toward Putin, for whom Trump has long shown admiration. But in recent days the Republican leader has expressed increasing exasperation with Putin, criticizing the Russian leader for his unbudging stance on U.S-led peace efforts and for prolonging the war.
Until recently, Trump had repeatedly said Russia seemed more willing than Ukraine to get a deal done.
Trump appears to have softened toward Zelenskyy after a February blowout in the Oval Office. And, in a reversal, has promised to send badly needed Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine amid Russia’s stepped up aerial attacks.
Russia’s bigger army is pressing hard on parts of the 620-mile (1,000-kilometer) front line, where thousands of soldiers on both sides have died since the Kremlin ordered the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
June brought the highest monthly civilian casualties of the past three years, with 232 people killed and 1,343 wounded in Ukraine, the U.N. human rights mission in Ukraine said Thursday.
Here’s a look at what Trump has said so far during his second term:
“We want to end that war. That war would have not started if I was president.”
Trump says his new administration has already had “very serious” discussions with Russia and that he and Putin could soon take “significant” action toward ending the conflict.
“A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.”
Trump’s harsh words for Zelenskyy on his Truth Social platform drew criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans in the United States, where defending Ukraine from Russian aggression has traditionally had bipartisan support. Zelenskyy said Trump was falling into a Russian disinformation trap — and he was quickly admonished by Vice President JD Vance about the perils of publicly criticizing the new president.
“You’re gambling with World War III. And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have.”
Trump and Vance berated Zelenskyy over the war in Ukraine, accusing him of not showing gratitude after he challenged Vance on the question of diplomacy with Putin. The argument in the Oval Office was broadcast globally. It led to the rest of Zelenskyy’s White House visit being canceled and called into question the U.S. support of Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s 2022 invasion. A few days after the blowup, Trump temporarily paused military aid to Ukraine to pressure Zelenskyy to seek peace.
“I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word. You’re talking about Putin. I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word. I’ve known him for a long time. We’ve always gotten along well.”
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, the U.S. president said he trusts the Russian president to hold up his end of a potential peace deal. The comments were among the last positive remarks Trump made about Putin this year.
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”
In a Truth Social post, Trump was reacting to Russia attacking Kyiv with an hourslong barrage of missiles and drones. It was the first of his rare criticism of Putin amid increased Russian attacks on Ukraine.
“A lot of his people are dying. They’re being killed, and I feel very badly about it.”
Trump addressed the toll on Ukrainians during an interview with ABC News after he met with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral. It was the first time the two leaders had met since the Oval office spat, and signaled a shift in Trump’s attitude toward the Ukrainian president.
“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!”
Trump’s Truth Social post made it clear he was losing patience with Putin as Moscow pounded Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles in stepped-up aerial attacks.
“He was very nice actually. We had a little rough times, sometimes. He was … Couldn’t have been nicer. I think he’d like to see an end to this, I do.”
Trump had a closed-door meeting with Zelenskyy during a NATO summit in The Hague. Trump’s comments to reporters later also opened the possibility of sending Patriot air-defense missiles to Ukraine.
“We get a lot of bull–—t thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”
Trump also said he’s “not happy” with his Russian counterpart and that Moscow’s war in Ukraine is “killing a lot of people” on both sides. Trump’s comments during a Cabinet meeting came a day after he said the United States would send more weapons to Ukraine. It was a dramatic reversal after earlier announcing a pause in the delivery of previously approved firepower to Kyiv, a decision that was made amid concerns that America’s military stockpiles had declined too much.
“I am very disappointed with President Putin, I thought he was somebody that meant what he said. He’ll talk so beautifully and then he’ll bomb people at night. We don’t like that.”
Trump’s remarks to reporters came as Russia has intensified its aerial attacks against Ukraine.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
