Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he has never been more proud of President Donald Trump than on Friday after he slammed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky for his ungrateful display, telling Breitbart News Saturday that when Trump speaks, the world listens.
Graham offered the broad picture of what happened on Friday, explaining how Zelensky blew up the deal. He said he met with Zelensky earlier in the day with other senators and told him that the minerals deal was a “game changer.”
“Half a trillion dollars for the United States that will create a business relationship between the United States and Ukraine… Once we start doing business, Russia is far less likely to invade and President Trump can say, ‘I got our money back, and I created a relationship where we’ll actually, you know, benefit from Ukraine,'” he explained, praising Vice President JD Vance for being “fantastic” as well.
“I’ve been working on this for even before the election, but President Trump realized that this was a good deal for America. I talked to him the night before. He was excited about it,” he said, explaining that Zelensky had been “very edgy” lately in the last few meetings.
“The guy has been under siege for three years. It’s been fighting to save this country. I get all that, but I told him, do not go in and talk about security guarantees. Let’s focus on the mineral deal and try to move to the next level. And JD responded to a question from a Polish reporter that was very, I think, derogatory toward President Trump. He didn’t say a word to Zelensky, and he gave a great answer, then Zelensky felt like he needed to jump in and tell JD the history of the war,” Graham said, explaining how it all went down.
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Breitbart · Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) – March 1, 2025“I’ve been to Ukraine nine times. I don’t need to be told the history of the war. I know how hard they fought. But here’s the big picture. Can you do business with Zelensky? Is he a reliable partner? Ukrainian people have the best army on the continent of Europe, they have trillions of dollars worth of rare-earth minerals. They fight like tigers. I’ve got a lot of admiration. But can Zelensky get to yes, can you find a way to end this war?” he asked, blasting Europeans for delivering grandiose speeches on the war, calling Putin a thug, then having a “glass of wine.”
“Here’s what Trump is doing. He’s trying to find a way to end this war. Good for Ukraine. He’s not trying to humiliate Putin. He has a different style. How well did four years of Biden work in terms of making the world a safe place to live?” the senator asked.
“When a European leader speaks, no bad guy listens,” Graham said. “When Trump speaks, everybody’s on edge.”
“I was never more proud of President Trump than I was yesterday,” he continued. “He stood up for America. He refused to be lectured to. And at the end of the day, whether or not Zelensky can change, I don’t know, but I’m proud of the President. I’m proud of the Vice President, and we’ll see what happens.”
Breitbart News Saturday airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
