'Did I say that?' President Trump backs off after calling Zelenskyy a dictator.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump softened his tone Thursday on Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of Friday's meeting between the two leaders, declining to acknowledge that he'd called the Ukrainian president a "dictator" just last week.
"Did I say that? I can't believe I said that. Next question," Trump said when asked by a reporter whether he still believed Zelenskyy was a dictator.
Trump was pressed on his relationship with Zelenskyy as he welcomed United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer to the Oval Office for a bilateral meeting Thursday. The meeting came amid widening differences between the U.S. and European countries over Russia's war in Ukraine after Trump opened negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a dramatic shift from longstanding U.S. policy.
"I have a very good relationship with President Putin. I think I have a very good relationship with President Zelenskyy, "Trump said.
More: Whiplash: Trump orders U-turn after 3 years of U.S. support for Ukraine in war with Russia
Trump is welcoming Zelenskyy to the White House to sign a deal for Ukraine to turn over some revenue from its rare mineral resources to repay the U.S. for money it has spent defending Ukraine in the three years since Russia invaded.
"We're going to be actually in there, digging our hearts out," Trump said. "We need the rare earth."
In a social media post last week, Trump called Zelenskyy "a dictator without elections," a reference to Zelenskyy canceling Ukraine's spring 2024 election because of the ongoing war. "He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing (former president Joe) Biden 'like a fiddle,'" Trump said in the Truth Social post. It came after Zelenskyy accused Trump of living in a "disinformation space.'
Trump's war of words with Zelenskyy was, in large part, fueled by Zelenskyy's reluctance to part with mineral rights in exchange for continued U.S. support of Ukraine. Trump has said he wants to "recoup" the money the U.S. has spent to help Ukraine.
More: Trump fires back at Zelenskyy, calls him a 'dictator without elections'
"I think the president and I," Trump said, referring to Zelenskyy, "actually have had a very good relationship. It maybe got a little bit testy because we wanted to have a little bit of what the European nations had. You know, they get their money back by giving money. We don't get the money back."
Starmer weighed in to correct Trump. "We're not getting all of ours," the prime minister said, adding that "quite a bit of ours was gifted, actually."
Congress has appropriated $175 billion toward the war effort, approximately $106 billion of which directly supports Ukraine.
A sticking point in a minerals deal with Ukraine have been security guarantees that Ukraine has sought from the U.S. to ensure Russia doesn't restart the conflict after it ends. But during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump said the U.S. would not be providing security guarantees to Ukraine in exchange for mineral rights. "I think Europe will largely be responsible for that," Trump said.
More: Zelenskyy says he would step down if Ukraine can join NATO, blasts Trump mineral pitch
Multiple times over the past week, Trump declined to apply the same "dictator" label to Putin that he'd used with Zelenskyy.
Trump said he trusts Putin to stick to any terms reached in a peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war, referencing how he and Putin were subjects in the Justice Department's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump said Russia had to deal with a "phony story that was made up," despite U.S. intelligence detailing Russia's efforts to influence the election.
"I think he'll keep his word," Trump said. "I've spoken to him. I've known him for a long time now. We had to go through the Russian hoax together. That was not a good thing. It was not fair."
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: President Trump on calling Zelenskyy a dictator: 'Did I say that?'
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