Former Fox News host and a once close friend of the President, Geraldo Rivera, slammed Trump for his ’embarrassing’ televised showdown with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Geraldo Rivera took to NewsNation and branded the explosive peace talks as ‘scripted’ and claimed the commander-in-chief ‘ambushed’ the Ukrainian president.
‘I was so embarrassed by it,’ Rivera told the outlet’s Connell McShane. ‘I just could not believe what I was seeing. It was President Trump at his worst, President Trump as in ill-mannered bully insulting a war hero.’
Rivera further claimed that the on-air screaming match was formulated to ‘humiliate’ Zelensky and partially blamed Vice President JD Vance for the ‘shameful’ display.
‘And what role, indeed, did the Vice President JD Vance play? You know, a disrespectful neophyte who chips in, you know, what was he even doing?’ Rivera queried.
‘Why did President Trump need him for the photo op? I think that this seemed almost scripted by JD Vance and people, you know, similar ilk. It really was something that was shameful in many ways. And I think people will die.’
Rivera believed the talks, which seemed far from peaceful, would have a ‘catastrophic’ effect on the war between Russia and Ukraine.
‘People will die as a result of this catastrophe because there won’t be aid flowing, I believe, as necessary. This will interfere with real life. This wasn’t just theatrics. This was policy being acted out. I believe this whole thing was scripted by the Trump administration,’ he further asserted.
Geraldo Rivera took to NewsNation and branded the explosive peace talks as ‘scripted’ and claimed the commander-in-chief ‘ambushed’ the Ukrainian president
‘I was so embarrassed by it,’ Rivera told the outlet’s Connell McShane. ‘I just could not believe what I was seeing. It was President Trump at his worst, President Trump as in ill-mannered bully insulting a war hero’
Rivera believed the talks, which seemed far from peaceful, would have a ‘catastrophic’ effect on the war between Russia and Ukraine
‘I think they went in there with the intent of making Zelensky look bad,’ he added, before suggesting the administration weaponized the Ukrainian president’s lack of fluency in English against him.
‘He’s not that fluent in English right. It’s almost like [he] has a delay, you know, before you understand, and he tries to make a point and sometimes he’s clumsy,’ Rivera suggested.
The pundit spectacularly withdrew his support for Trump in October of last year and shared a lengthy statement blasting the President for his unwillingness to accept his defeat in the 2020 election.
‘Former President Trump is a sore loser who cannot be trusted to honor the Constitution,’ the veteran journalist wrote on X, as he pledged his vote to Kamala Harris for the 2024 election.
Rivera recalled Trump being a ‘loyal friend’ to him during his presidency, which he called ‘underrated.’
But he noted the two have not spoken since a phone call in November 2020 – just days after Joe Biden won the election.
The former Fox News personality said Trump assured him that he would recognize the electoral results, so he was disappointed when the president never did.
‘As I reported on Fox News that same morning, Friday the 13th, he told me he was a reasonable man and would do the right thing if that time came,’ Rivera wrote.
‘I think they went in there with the intent of making Zelensky look bad,’ he added, before suggesting the administration weaponized the Ukrainian president’s lack of fluency in English against him
‘It never did. Instead, President Trump embarked on an increasingly menacing campaign to discredit the 2020 election.’
‘If you are a Republican, Donald Trump has made a liar of you.
‘He has coaxed and intimidated tens of millions into pretending he was reelected in 2020, and that the election was stolen’.
His latest critique of Trump’s behavior had the former Fox News host labeling his former friend to be ‘at his worst.’
What had begun as a fairly peaceful day quickly derailed into an explosive shouting match resulting in Zelensky abruptly leaving the White House.
After jabs on Zelensky’s decision to not wear a suit, with Trump joking the Ukrainian president ‘dressed up’ for the occasion, the conversation turned into a heated spat over saying ‘thank you.’
At the 40-minute mark, tensions rose as VP Vance accused Zelensky of being ungrateful.
That set off Trump and both men began demanding Zelensky say ‘thank you.’
President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting in the Oval Office became a shouting match
Trump was repeatedly shouting over Zelensky as he tried to defend his position.
The yelling match was unlike anything ever seen publicly in the Oval Office. Trump even accused Zelensky of ‘gambling with World War III.’
Both men were tense and on the defensive as they repeatedly tried to talk over one another. Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., seated to the side in the Oval Office, buried her face in her hands.
It started when Trump got pressed on historic Russian domination of its neighbors and repositioning the U.S. toward Russia.
‘If I didn’t align myself with both of them, you’d never have a deal,’ Trump explained. ‘You want me to say really terrible things about Putin and then say: ‘Hi, Vladimir. How are we doing on the deal? It doesn’t work that way. I’m not aligned with anybody. I’m aligned with the United States of America.’
The conversation turned into a back and forth as the three argued about history, before Trump accused Zelensky of bringing in dignitaries to his country on a ‘propaganda tour.’
‘Do you think that it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?’ Vance berated him.
Zelensky tried to respond, but that only got Trump’s ire up.
Vice President JD Vance injected into the conversation to criticize Zelensky
‘Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel, because you’re in no position to dictate,’ he said.
‘You’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position,’ Trump told Zelensky, after last week calling him a ‘dictator’ and blaming Ukraine for starting the war.
Yelling with his face getting red, Trump intoned: ‘You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now … You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people.’
‘It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this,’ Trump said.
That brought Vance back to demanding thanks.
‘Just say thank you,’ Vance told him.
‘I said it a lot of times,’ Zelensky responded.
The blowup in the Oval Office continued before Zelensky was ejected from the peace talks. As he exited, Trump gave the Ukrainian president a pat on the shoulder.
Vice President JD Vance speaks alongside President Donald Trump as they meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Shortly after the argument, Trump joked: ‘This is going to be great television, I will say that.’
Trump and Zelensky had been scheduled to participate in a press conference later Friday. That was canceled.
Zelensky was seen exiting the White House about two hours after his arrival. He then posted his own message on social media.
He wrote: ‘Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.’
The shocking development comes after French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the White House this week in an attempt to gain some sympathy for Ukraine from Trump.
It’s not immediately clear how the dramatic fallout will affect peace talks, but the explosive argument may prove detrimental for Ukraine’s war efforts – even Russia approved of the fallout.
US Vice President JD Vance (R) speaks during a meeting between US President Donald Trump (C) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) in the Oval Office of the White House
‘The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office. And @realDonaldTrump is right: The Kiev regime is “gambling with WWIII,”‘ wrote Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Medvedev on X.
Additionally, the U.S. has given billions to the Ukraine for its fight. Trump and Zelensky were scheduled to sign a deal to give U.S. access to some of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as part of a repayment plan. That trillion-dollar deal was not inked.
All this leaves the future of the Ukraine in question.
