Episode description

On Friday, Zelensky and Trump met for what was expected to be a tense but uneventful meeting before signing a natural resources agreement that was seen as the first step to a peace deal with Russia. Instead, cameras captured a blow-up – Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused Zelensky of being ungrateful and said he was “gambling with the lives of millions of people.”  

Since then, European leaders have redoubled support for Ukraine – while the Kremlin proclaimed that the Trump administration is “largely aligned” with Moscow’s vision. 

Martine Powers speaks with White House reporter Michael Birnbaum about how the meeting fell apart and where Zelensky might go from here.

Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff with help from Bishop Sand. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sam Bair. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.