Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley admonished her 2024 election rival, President Trump, over his stance on Ukraine and recent comments directed at the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump appeared to blame Zelensky and the country’s leadership Tuesday for the war in Eastern Europe as it nears its three-year anniversary. He doubled down on his criticism of Ukraine’s leader Wednesday, claiming he has done a “terrible job” of leading the war-torn country and accusing him of taking advantage of Washington with all of the aid the U.S. has forked over in the last three years.
Haley, who eventually endorsed Trump in 2024 after dropping out of the race, characterized the president’s remarks as “classic Russian talking points” and “exactly what Putin wants.”
Trump escalated his jabs against Zelensky as a group of U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz, met with their Russian counterparts on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia. They began peace talks, seeking to restart a relationship with Moscow, one that diminished following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Kyiv did not have a representative at the meeting.
The commander in chief called Zelensky a “dictator” Wednesday, slamming him for not holding nationwide elections and claiming his approval rating dropped to single digits.
