Toledo’s Congresswoman and head of Ukraine Caucus criticizes Trump’s comments in Zelenskyy meeting

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-Toledo), the Co-Chair and Co-Founder of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, is calling President Trump’s actions in his Oval Office meeting with President Zelenskyy “shameful.”

In Friday’s meeting at the White House, President Trump shouted as he and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukrainian President Vladimir Zeleneskyy, calling him “disrespectful.” Before the heated exchange, the Ukrainian leader was expected to sign off on a minerals deal with the U.S. that Trump has said would’ve been a step toward ending the Russian war with Ukraine.

Kaptur, Toledo’s congressional representative, called Trump and Vance’s comments uncalled for and “not befitting the office they hold.”

“Why would Ukrainian President Zelenskyy turn his back on his heroic 40 million constituents, by agreeing to a Putin-designed cease-fire that gives Communist Russia large chunks of his country with no security guarantees and no enforcement mechanisms? What world leader would ever trade minerals for Liberty? Ukrainians are true freedom fighters,” Kaptur said in a statement. “Communist Russia is a brutal, oppressive dictatorship and its President and military are brutal war criminals. Why is President Trump determined to put America on the wrong side of history?”

Her statement went on to criticize the Trump administration’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Read the full statement at the link here.

Other elected officials weighing in on the exchange includes Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno, who praised Trump’s comments.

“Finally we have a President who will speak the TRUTH and stand up against Washington’s endless wars. American taxpayers have been funding this war, it’s time to stop the killing and stop risking World War 3,” Moreno said in a social media post.

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