The House speaker said Zelenskyy “needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country to do that.”
Zelenskyy has repeatedly said he was seeking to include security guarantees — or assurances that the United States would come to Ukraine’s aid if Russia violates a ceasefire deal — in the mineral rights agreement.
In the Oval Office spat, Trump told Zelenskyy that he “doesn’t have the cards” to negotiate and joined Vance in asking him to be more grateful for U.S. support for Ukraine.
Following the contentious meeting, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called on Zelenskyy to resign, telling reporters at the White House that the meeting was a “complete, utter disaster.”
“I don’t know if we can ever do business with Zelenskyy again,” Graham said, adding that he “either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change.”
Johnson on Sunday echoed the president and the vice president, telling “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker that Zelenskyy “berated and interrupted his host, instead of expressing gratitude for the extraordinary help that the U.S. has provided his country.”
Johnson also argued that security guarantees were inherent in the mineral rights deal, telling Welker, “This mineral rights deal is a win, a win for everyone. It will give us access to rare earth minerals that we need, and it will provide a level of security for Ukraine.”
“They will effectively be in an economic partnership with us after that point, and we will definitely always defend our interests and our investments,” Johnson added. “Russia knows that. China knows that. Iran, North Korea know that, and that’s a very important message for us.”
Asked whether Putin was the “winner” in the fallout from the tense Oval Office exchange, Johnson said, “No, he wasn’t.”
In an interview later on “Meet the Press,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., pushed back on GOP officials’ calls for Zelenskyy to resign, telling Welker, “I’m not interested in calling on the resignation of other world leaders.”
