The Trump smackdown of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky was a true “moment in history,” U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said during an appearance on Breitbart News Saturday.
“What a moment in history,” he began. “I think that’s a moment that historians, the Smithsonian, and others will be studying for quite some time.”
“I do have to say, I don’t think the mainstream media will do it, but I know you will, and others, to unpack the entire episode — not just the little clips that people are showing — and you will see why Vice President Vance finally had had enough with the body language of President Zelensky,” he said, noting that Zelensky was folding his arms, shaking his head, and rolling his eyes.
Vice President JD Vance, right, (not pictured) speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, as President Donald Trump, center, listens in the Oval Office at the White House, Friday, February 28, 2025, in Washington. (Mystyslav Chernov/AP)
“It was wholly inappropriate. It was the wrong approach, definitely the wrong president, and for him and his country, the wrong moment in history,” he explained, delving into the importance of the mineral deal that Zelensky left without signing.
“I was on the phone with my counterpart, the Joint Chiefs National Security Adviser, as recently as the morning of after repeated requests for — not only for President Zelensky, to sign — at a minimum, to have his finance minister and Secretary Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, sign to show that they were serious, that this deal was closed, that it was done, and they were ready to move forward. And they continued to insist to leave it open,” he said, explaining that they evidently wanted to leave it open because Zelensky intended to come in and demand “security guarantees,” which Waltz said is essentially the commitment of U.S. troops, “which we’ve made it clear that the United States is not willing to do, and potentially, you know — who knows his motives — but I think he was grandstanding for back at home, for his nationalists back at home, and again, totally inappropriate. If you disagree with our approach then you take it behind closed doors,” he said, adding that he believes that Zelensky does not get the message.
LISTEN:
Breitbart · Nat. Sec. Adv. Mike Waltz – March 1, 2025“He is used to coming into the White House with Joe Biden, who was half there … and hearing from Biden and his team ‘As much as you want, as long as it takes, no matter what the cost.’ And you know — and this is what Biden would say — ‘We don’t make any decisions about Ukraine; only you do.’ Well, I think the American taxpayer sent a very different message with the election of Donald Trump, and enough is enough,” Waltz said.
Waltz said he expressed to Zelensky how unacceptable the entire episode was as he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio kicked him out.
“What I told him was, you know, time is not on your side here. It’s not on your side on the battlefield, it’s not on your side politically, and it’s definitely not on your side in terms of the patience of the American people, the American taxpayer. And I still, as you can see by subsequent interviews, don’t think he’s gotten that message, and what he did yesterday was a real disservice to his country,” Waltz added.
Breitbart News Saturday airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
