Rubio Explains Why Trump is Angry with Zelenksy

The dynamic between the Trump administration and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been strained for some time, reaching a boiling point recently. On Tuesday, the 'former modestly successful comedian,' Zelensky made a risky decision by claiming that President Donald Trump was immersed in a "disinformation bubble," intensifying their verbal sparring. Trump fired back, branding Zelensky a "dictator."

The friction, however, stretches beyond this exchange. During the 2024 U.S. presidential race, Zelensky openly criticized Trump and his then-running mate, now Vice President JD Vance, seemingly betting on a Kamala Harris victory. He even joined Democrats on stage in Pennsylvania, effectively throwing his support behind Harris in a key battleground state.

Think clearly about this. Ukraine's President campaigned for Kamala Harris. Translation? A Harris administration would have continued to shovel billions of American taxpayer dollars into the Russian meat grinder. And Zelensky and his top aides would likely to continue to grift their cut into offshore bank accounts.

In his sharpest rebuke yet of the Republican ticket, Zelensky labeled Vance "dangerous" and "overly extreme." Speaking to the New Yorker before heading to the U.S. to pitch his "Victory Plan" to the White House, Zelensky remarked of Vance, "His stance suggests Ukraine should bear the brunt of sacrifice. Yet, I’d argue we’ve been a bulwark for America against all-out war."

Full stop. What victory plan? Has anyone reported exactly what Zelensky's victory plan included?

Enter Marco Rubio to explain that Zelenksy was trying to "hustle" the United the States.

HERRIDGE: When President Trump posts that President Zelensky is a dictator without elections, what are you thinking?

RUBIO: I think President Trump is very upset at President Zelensky and in some cases rightfully so. Look, number one, Joe Biden had frustration with Zelensky. People shouldn't forget it. There are newspaper articles out there about how he cursed at him in a phone call because Zelensky, instead of saying thank you for all your help is immediately out there messaging what we're not doing or what he's not getting.

I think the second thing, frankly, is that I was very upset because we had a conversation with Zelensky, the vice president and I, the three of us, and we discussed this issue about the mineral rights, and we explained to them, look, we want to be a joint venture with you, not because we're trying to steal from your country but because we think that is actually a security guarantee. If we're your partner in an important economic endeavor, we get to get paid back some of the money that taxpayers have given, close to $200 billion, and now, we have a vested interest in the security of Ukraine. And he said, sure we want to do this deal, the only thing is, I need to run it through my legislative process.

I read two days later that Zelensky is out there saying, "I rejected the deal, I told them no way, that we're not doing that." Well, that's not what happened in that meeting. So you start to get upset at somebody, we're trying to help these guys. One of the points the president made in his messaging is not that we don't care about Ukraine, but Ukraine is on another continent. It doesn't directly impact the daily lives of Americans. We care about because it has implications for our allies and ultimately for the world, but there needs to be some level of gratitude about this, and when you don't see and you see him out there accusing the president of living in a world of disinformation, that's highly, very counterproductive, and I don't need to explain it to you or anybody else Donald Trump, President Trump is not the kind of person who is going to sit there and take that.

He's very transparent. He's going to tell you exactly how he feels, and he sent a message that he's not going to be gamed here. He's willing to work on peace because he cares about Ukraine, and he hopes Zelensky will be a partner in that and not someone who's out there putting this sort of counter-messaging to sort of hustle us in that regard. That's not gonna be productive here.

Did you catch that? NATO countries handed Ukraine cash through loans, and they’ll get repaid with interest from frozen Russian assets. Meanwhile, the United States gets zilch in return. That’s exactly why Trump’s push for a mineral rights deal with Ukraine is front and center in these negotiations. Honestly, it feels like President Trump’s the only one actually looking out for American citizens here.

Trump’s always saying the United States gets taken advantage of in these deals, and with Ukraine, it’s a glaring example of exploitation by European countries and Ukraine itself.

And let’s not forget—just a few years back, that actor-turned-President, the one who faked playing the piano with his junk, conned the world out of billions. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have died, and yet Russia’s still got its claws in at least a third of Ukraine.