Trump Tried to Power Over Zelensky But He Shut It Down with One Sentence and the Cameras Caught the Awkward Fallout
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled from Kyiv to Florida after the holiday weekend to meet privately with President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
The Dec. 28 sit-down reportedly stretched more than three hours, with the 47-year-old wartime leader and the 79-year-old president discussing the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the possibility of pushing toward a negotiated peace.
Following their meeting, Zelenskyy and Trump both faced the cameras for a joint press conference. Everything went as planned—until one small yet forgettable moment had the internet locked in.
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Trump responded to a reporter mentioning the resort’s lunch meal that day. The former reality television show host turned back to the media members and suggested Zelenskyy was more enamored by Mar-a-Lago than the White House in Washington, D.C.
“There’s no lunch. [Zelenskyy] walked in. He said, ‘This place is gorgeous.’ I don’t think he wants to go to the White House anymore. That’s the problem,” Trump insisted about his fellow entertainer-turned-politician.
Without missing a beat, a smiling Zelenskyy quickly responded, “I’m ready to go to the White House,” which led to reporters in the room laughing along with the ex-comedian who has been Ukraine’s head of state since 2019.
Trump, seemingly realizing his guest came off as more charming and charismatic than him, sheepishly admitted, “I know,” before turning towards the reporters to add, “The White House is a very special place, and so is this. Thank you very much.”
Footage of Trump trying to brag about his Palm Beach home during his public appearance with Zelenskyy made its way to Threads and X. Many of the MAGA chief’s detractors zeroed in on his boastful claim that was instantly shut down in front of the entire world.
“Trump lies effortlessly—claiming Zelenskyy prefers his tacky resort—then gets corrected in real time by the leader fighting for his country’s life. Narcissism meets reality. Delusion meets duty. Pathetic. Embarrassing. Utterly Trump,” one X user expressed.
A like-minded person on the social networking platform shared a similar take by tweeting, “Not, Mar-A-Lardo is NOT gorgeous, it’s tacky and gaudy. Decorated by a tasteless old man stuck in the Victorian era.”
“Zelenskyy probably can’t wait to get out of that fish-smelling brothel,” joked a poster about Trump’s Floridian estate that hosts an elite club that once featured convicted criminal Jeffrey Epstein as a regular guest. Trump supposedly fell out with Epstein before he died in jail while awaiting trial in 2019.
Over on threads, another outspoken Trump critic declared,
“Imagine [having] to save your people you have to go through this grotesque pantomime to inflate the ego of a petulant man-child who doesn’t live in reality,” read an even harsher critique of the current U.S. commander in chief.
On X, one wrote, “Zelensky’s face says it all. He’s done with Trump lying and gaslighting.
Zelenskyy snarkily implying that he prefers to be at the White House over Mar-a-Lago comes after his headline-making initial sit-down with Trump inside the executive mansion earlier this year. Tensions were high for that encounter.
Trump and Zelenskyy initially met as leaders of their respective countries in February, following the U.S. presidential inauguration the previous month. That meeting in the White House’s Oval Office turned into an international spectacle.
Both Trump and Vice President JD Vance openly berated Zelenskyy as the highly anticipated session devolved into a shouting match. A heated back-and-forth broke out that left observers questioning why America’s representatives were insulting an ally.
Trump and Zelenskyy were also part of a multilateral summit in August that included other key European leaders. That conference was held in Washington and ended on a more positive note, leading to their latest Mar-a-Lago meeting being scheduled for three days after Christmas.
