(WASHINGTON) — Congressional Republicans on Friday were nearly unanimous in their praise of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance after they and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a fiery exchange before live cameras in the Oval Office.
Speaking to reporters in the White House driveway right afterward, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham predicted that the shouting match could end U.S. support for Zelenskyy, calling the meeting a “complete, utter disaster.”
“Somebody asked me, am I embarrassed about Trump. I have never been more proud of the president. I was very proud of JD Vance standing up for our country. We want to be helpful. What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful, and I don’t know if we can ever do business with Zelenskyy again,” Graham, the Senate Budget Committee Chairman, said. “The way he handled the meeting, the way he confronted the president, was just over the top.”
He suggested Zelenskyy might need to consider resigning.
“He either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change,” Graham said.
“Thanks to President Trump – the days of America being taken advantage of and disrespected are OVER,” Speaker Mike Johnson posted on X.
“Zelenskyy could have left the White House today with a peace deal for his country, ending this conflict. Instead, he chose to disrespect our President and nation,” Rep. Diane Harshbarger, R-Tenn., posted on X. “Thank you, President Trump and Vice President Vance, for standing up for our country!”
Rep. Victoria Spartz, an Indiana Republican who is Ukrainian-born, said Zelenskyy is doing the Ukrainian people a “serious disservice” by insulting the American president.
“This is not a theater act but a real war!” she posted on X. “Zelensky is doing a serious disservice to the Ukrainian people insulting the American President and the American people – just to appease Europeans and increase his low polling in Ukraine after he failed miserably to defend his country.”
“No funding to Ukraine. This gross disrespect will not stand,” GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida posted on X. “Time for everyone in Congress to drop their Ukraine pins.”
“America First in action,” freshman Texas Republican Brandon Gill posted on X. “Thank you, @realDonaldTrump and @JDVance for prioritizing our people first and for promoting peace!”
Democrats, on the other hand, were dismayed by the jarring, if not unprecedented, diplomatic performance.
“Trump and Vance are doing Putin’s dirty work,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. “Senate Democrats will never stop fighting for freedom and democracy.”
“A hero and a coward are meeting in the Oval Office today. And when the meeting is over, the hero will return home to Ukraine,” Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., posted on X.
“What we saw in the Oval Office today was beyond disgraceful,” Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., posted on X. “Trump and Vance berating Zelenskyy — putting on a show of lies and misinformation that would make Putin blush — is an embarrassment for America and a betrayal of our allies.They’re popping champagne in the Kremlin.”
Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, said, “Every time I’ve met with President Zelenskyy, he’s thanked the American people for our strong support. We owe him our thanks for leading a nation fighting on the front lines of democracy – not the public berating he received at the White House.”
Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota said, “That press conference was choreographed for an audience of one and he sits in Moscow. Once, we fought tyrants. Today Trump and Vance are bending America’s knee. And that weakens us.”
“President Trump and his administration continue to embarrass America on the world stage,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement. “Today’s White House meeting with the President of Ukraine was appalling and will only serve to further embolden Vladimir Putin, a brutal dictator.”
One moderate House Republican, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a major Ukraine ally on Capitol Hill, joined Democrats in defending Ukraine — though he stopped short of criticizing the president or vice president.
“Some want to whitewash the truth, but we cannot ignore the truth. Russia is at fault for this war,” Bacon posted on X.
Later, in an updated statement, he said, “A bad day for America’s foreign policy. Ukraine wants independence, free markets and rule of law. It wants to be part of the West. Russia hates us and our Western values. We should be clear that we stand for freedom.”
Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley, co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus and member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said Trump “chose the side of dictators.”
“What just happened in the Oval Office was one of the most embarrassing moments in American history,” Quigley, from Illinois, exclaimed. “The world order that was established after the Second World War is dead.”
Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said, “It was heartbreaking to witness the turn of events that transpired in today’s meeting regarding Ukraine’s future. It is time to put understandable emotions aside and come back to the negotiation table. This can and will be fixed. A strong, sovereign Ukraine is essential for global stability in the face of Putin’s ongoing aggression.”
ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.
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