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One World with Zain Asher
Trump to Welcome Zelenskyy to the White House; Zelenskyy Arrives at the White House; Trump Hosts Zelenskyy at White House. Aired 1-2p ET
Aired August 18, 2025 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:00:00]
STEVEN ERLANGER, CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK TIMES: -- some of the assets that only the United States right now is able to provide.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Trump officials, the president himself over the weekend have said that there need to be concessions from both sides.
From Europe's and arguably from Ukraine's positioning, what is non- negotiable here?
ERLANGER: Well, I think it's pretty much what the Europeans and Zelenskyy laid out before Alaska, which is, one, a ceasefire before talks on
territory. Two, let's talk about territory, but we're not going to give up any territory Russia has not yet conquered. Three, there should be no
permanent annexation of these regions by Russia because international borders should not be changed by force. And four, Ukraine requires serious
security guarantees to protect it from a further Russian invasion down the road should Russia, should Putin or Putin's successors decide to reinvade.
Those are the red lines, I think.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Steven Erlanger, thank you so much. And it is the top of a very crucial hour ahead, a meeting between President Trump and
President Zelenskyy, their second meeting at the White House since president has taken office once again.
Hello, everybody. I'm Bianna Golodryga. You are watching a special extended edition of One World.
And we do begin there. As you see at the White House in Washington, D.C., what could be one of the most consequential days for European security in
decades, and a strong show of force suggesting just that. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected any moment to meet with President
Trump. This time he is bringing in backup in the form of Europe's most prominent leaders, the leaders of France, the U.K., Germany, Finland, NATO,
and the European Union have already arrived.
It's a striking show of solidarity coming as the White House is piling pressure on Ukraine once again to make huge concessions to end a war that
Russia started. Trump says that Ukraine must agree to give Crimea up to Russia and agree never to join NATO. Both are conditions put forward by the
Kremlin, and once Kyiv has already firmly rejected.
For more on this CNN Reporter Alayna Treene joins us from the White House. And, Alayna, we seem to see a pattern here that every step forward that the
president makes in terms of support for Europe and support for Ukraine, then followed by two steps back after any sort of phone call or meeting in
this case with the Russian president. And that is the position that these European leaders and President Zelenskyy find themself in once again going
into a very crucial meeting at the White House.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, I think a large part of why so many European leaders are here alongside to meet with the president
alongside Zelenskyy is because I think everyone wants to find an end to this war, all of them. But there are concerns that perhaps President Donald
Trump maybe, you know, more willing to give up more, to concede more than perhaps Zelenskyy and some of, you know, the United States, European allies
are. And so, that's going to be a key question today, is whether they can find some area of agreement and consensus that can really continue the
momentum we've seen of them trying to continue these talks.
But one thing I think is so important, I'd remind you, you know, Bianna, of how we got here because it was August 8th, so, you know, a little over a
week ago that the president had set as the deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to either reach a ceasefire deal with Ukraine or face severe
economic pain and punishment. Of course, those -- that threat of sanctions and that deadline kind of came and went partly because we did see Putin
meet with one of the president's top envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Moscow, and that led them to believe that there was perhaps enough room to try and
really, you know, increase the pace of these negotiations. And of course, culminating in that summit in Alaska on Friday.
However, we still have not seen a huge movement on behalf of Putin to try and stop the war. I mean, we've reported this, you know, continuously now,
but overnight, we saw just a major ramp up in the bombings on Ukraine.
And one thing as well that I think has some people a little bit nervous is what we saw President Donald Trump say on Saturday, that, you know, they
want to go directly for a broader peace deal, a more long-term peace deal, not just what he called a, quote, "near ceasefire." And so, we have to see
where some of that, you know, ends up falling today in some of these negotiations.
But one concern of that is that, you know, it allows Russia to continue the killing and the attacks while these talks are ongoing. But again, I think a
key point today as well that we're going to be looking for is if they believe there is enough to potentially get a trilateral meeting. I know
that some people here in the White House are hoping, if not today, at some point in the future, that can actually happen, a meeting between Zelenskyy,
Putin and Donald Trump. Others, you know, trying to be a bit more cautious and lower expectations on what we could actually see as a tangible result
after some of the meetings today.
[13:05:00]
GOLODRYGA: Alayna Treene, thank you so much. And joining us now from Kyiv is Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the
Ukrainian Parliament. And, Oleksandr, I want to get to some of your concerns specifically stemming from that summit on Friday in Alaska between
President Trump and President Putin. But some of the more optimistic takeaways include that the president of the United States seem open to
provide Ukraine with security guarantees. Specifics we don't yet know, and that is a big if, what type of specifics would the United States provide?
Would it be similar to Article 5 that NATO allies all are committed to or not?
But we are just getting word now from the Russians who are saying that there will be no peace deal that would see NATO troops in Ukraine. This was
part of the coalition of the willing that we saw a number of these European allies commit to. What does that tell you about any hope of seeing some
sort of strong, reliable military support and reinforcement here?
OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO, CHAIR, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT: Well, first of all, it's obviously a great use for Ukraine for our people
that the United States, our closest ally, our closest friend, is eager to provide us with security guarantees. So, it's crucially important. It's a
huge progress in our relations, of course.
But in my opinion, and I'm absolutely confident about that, that the best security guarantee, the best guarantee of survival of Ukraine remains NATO
membership for Ukraine. At the same time, I understand that our president can discuss other options. But again, the goal is to create guarantees
which will be reliable, adequate, and which will allow Ukraine to survive as independent nation.
GOLODRYGA: Well, the point about NATO membership, the president of the United States, ahead of this meeting, just said that that's not going to be
an option for Ukraine in terms of agreeing to a peace deal. He said that Ukraine's going to have to make some concessions on land and also
acknowledge that there will be no future NATO membership. That is a -- also, we should note, part of the root causes that Vladimir Putin continues
to say is also at the heart of this war, it is that NATO membership aspiration from Ukraine as long -- as well as demilitarization. So, that
part, at least President Trump isn't pushing for.
But the fact that he's already stating publicly going into this meeting that NATO should -- that Ukraine should give up its aspirations, that's a
big setback for you, no?
MEREZHKO: I don't consider it as a setback, because first of all, President Trump can be convinced, and we have examples of that. We should
continue to insist, because we don't have right to give up on NATO membership. And by the way, President Trump himself, in one of his
interviews, he said that -- he was asked about the best piece of advice, and he said the best piece of advice from him, never give up. So, we will
never give up on NATO membership for Ukraine for a very simple reason, because it's about our survival.
So, we'll continue to insist on that because the Bucharest Summit, I would like to quote this famous phrase that the doors of NATO are open for
Ukraine and we continue to knock on these doors, and we hope that someday President Trump will open these doors for Ukraine.
GOLODRYGA: Quickly, what about Crimea? Also, another demand of President Trump's in saying this war come to an end.
MEREZHKO: When President Trump was the president, a famous Crimean declaration, so-called, Pompoe, sometimes referred to as Pompeo Declaration
was issued. And this is about the fact that United States will never agree to recognize a Russian attempt of annexation of Crimea. So, in this regard,
it's part of U.S. foreign policy, which was approved by President Trump himself.
So, when we return Crimea, it just a matter of time. It can be -- it doesn't necessarily mean that it can be returned only by using military
means, it can be returned by using political and diplomatic means. But sooner or later, it'll happen. We will never give up on Crimea and we'll do
everything we can with support of our European friends and the -- our American allies to return as soon as possible.
GOLODRYGA: You're right. That policy was put in place during Trump's first term. So, a bit surprising to see an about face now. The president going
into these meeting posting on social media that Ukraine should agree to give up its NATO membership aspirations as well as control over Crimea.
Oleksandr Merezhko, thank you so much.
[13:10:00]
Well, Lithuania's former foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, joins me now. And, Gabrielius, we heard President Trump change his tone in the past
few months as it relates to President Putin, saying at one point that he's feeding us a bunch of BS, saying really nice things to him over the phone
and then continuing his bombardment in Ukraine. However, we did see the red carpet literally rolled out for him in Anchorage on Friday. No sanctions
that the president threatened to increase or introduce. Secondary sanctions were announced. The president said that's not happening anytime soon. And
yet, that bombardment continues. So, in the president's own words it does appear that this is BS that we're hearing from President Putin in terms of
his desire to end the war and we're seeing no real consequences against Russia right now from the United States. What does that suggest to you?
GABRIELIUS LANDSBERGIS, FORMER LITHUANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, first of all, it suggests that that Putin has taken all the gifts that were given to
him as if he has deserved them. There will be no thank yous from President Putin to President Trump. Not once, not twice. And then, he believes that
there is no strength given or shown when it comes to -- you know, to the things that you've mentioned. So, mainly that there is no leverage being
created that would strengthen the Ukrainian position if it were ever to come to a negotiating table.
So, Putin really comfortable position. He -- you know, he was showered with all the goodies throughout the last half a year, and he believes that there
is nothing that will be thrown at him that would hurt him. No sanctions, no new weapons, no security guarantees. And it basically boils down to today
to show that he is wrong or he's right.
GOLODRYGA: What are your biggest concerns going into this meeting between President Trump and President Zelenskyy?
LANDSBERGIS: My biggest concern is whether Europe will have enough stamina and strength to support Ukraine if what is proposed by President Trump is a
really bad deal for Ukraine. Because Europe is also find itself in a rather tough position. You know, there are few who believe that Europe can help
Ukraine alone. There are few who argue that Europe should be using Russia's frozen assets to help Ukraine.
And then again, next month, there should be an announcement about the U.S. force posture in Europe, meaning how many U.S. troops will be remaining in
Europe. So, given all the anxieties in Europe, Europe is in a very tough position. But still, I believe it has to find strength to support Ukraine
whatever is being put on the table for President Zelenskyy to accept.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Gabrielius Landsbergis, please stand by for us. Thank you so much. I do want to go to Ben Wedeman, who is now in Kyiv for
us. What is the latest Ben?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we've heard in the last hour is air raid sirens here in Kyiv, although the all
clear is sounded. But that really just is a reminder that despite the fact that there's lots of talk about diplomacy trying to end this war, this war
is not over.
Overnight, of course, we saw that the Russians fired 140 drones into Ukraine, according to the defense ministry, three ballistic missiles,
killing at least 10 people, including an 18-month-old baby and two children. The fighting continues on the frontline. And there is a concern
that despite the fact in the weeks leading up to -- or rather the days leading up to the Alaska summit that perhaps President Trump had been
brought around to the idea we --
GOLODRYGA: We're going to -- Ben, can we cut his mic? Ben --
WEDEMAN: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: We're having to interrupt you. President Zelenskyy just arrived here at the White House with President Trump. President Trump notably
greeting him. It was the White House chief of protocol who was greeting the other European leaders.
Here, we have President Trump. Perhaps a good sign coming out and greeting his guest, President Zelenskyy, for their second meeting now at the White
House, potentially the stakes even higher following their last meeting back in February, six months ago, ending terribly. The Ukrainian president
essentially kicked out of the White House following that meeting.
Here, Ben, we have the president of Ukraine arriving with reinforcements in the form of some of the top European allies in this war. And allies, we
should note, that have become quite close with President Trump as well, hoping that they can leverage their relationship with him, to get him back
on course where he was really showing more frustration and questioning Putin's tactics and Putin's policies and strategy as opposed to now putting
the ball back in President Zelenskyy's court.
[13:15:00]
So, tell us how this is being viewed from Ukraine right now.
WEDEMAN: Well, certainly, I think if we looked at that greeting by President Trump in front of the White House where he actually came out,
they both smiled for the cameras. So, it certainly is a good start to a meeting. So, many people are watching so very closely where it is so
important with this administration. The optics, we saw the optics in Alaska, and now we're seeing these optics, which seem to be starting off
positive because the worry has been since the Alaska summit that perhaps President Trump was leaning back in the direction of President Putin in
terms of his demands for more territory and exchange for an end to the war here.
So, I think people are going to at least look at those opening moments, those smiles, the handshakes as a positive sign. But we'll have to see what
comes -- what goes on inside the White House, inside the Oval Office to get a better idea of where this might be going.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And it is important to pay attention to details specifically as it relates to this president, President Trump, who is very
keen on optics, an expert on how things like this type of greeting are going to be portrayed and viewed on television to the public around the
world. So, notable that there was a very friendly handshake. President Zelenskyy appears to be addressed a bit more formal in a dark suit. And
now, they're meeting in the Oval Office.
We'll be getting underway shortly. We will bring that to you as soon as we have cameras and reporters in the Oval Office to take any questions between
these two leaders. Ben Wedeman in Kyiv for us. Thank you so much.
Let's get the Ukrainian perspective from member of parliament, Inna Sovsun joins me now live from Kyiv. And, Inna, we just saw President Zelenskyy
arrive as you just saw as well with President Trump for their important meeting at the White House. What are some of the most critical issues that
President Zelenskyy needs to bring up with President Trump right now to make this meeting as effective as possible in Ukraine's favor?
INNA SOVSUN, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Well, I think there are three main issues that need to be discussed. One, and that is a critical one, is
the territorial issue. There has been lots of discussion about the potential territory swap of Ukraine given up the third of the Donetsk
region that Russian never controlled, even though it tried to take it over the last 11 years. That is not acceptable to Ukraine. The only acceptable
position with regard to the territory is freezing the conflict according to the current frontlines, and that needs to be reiterated once again.
The second issue is the issue of security guarantees. Security guarantees are critical. That is something that is critical for Ukraine's survival.
Ukraine will not be ready to stop fighting unless we have real assurances from our partners and friends that we will be protected in case we are
attacked again. There is no chance of the world that Ukrainians will trust whatever Putin will promise. So, we'll need real security guarantees,
preferably in the form of --
GOLODRYGA: All right. Inna, I'm going to cut in. I'm so sorry. I believe we're getting the first images of the s bilateral meeting between President
Trump and President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. Very similar, eerily similar deja vu to the meeting between the two of them that went south
quite quickly back in February. All anticipation that that doesn't repeat in this meeting right now.
You see Vice President J. D. Vance who also had some heated exchanges with President Zelenskyy back in February. Now, they're going to be making some
statements. Let's listen in.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We've had a lot of good discussions, a lot of good talks, and I think progress is being made. Very substantial
progress in many ways. We had a good meeting, as you know, just a short while ago with the president of Russia, and I think there's a possibility
that something could come out of it. And today's meeting is very important.
We have, I guess, the seven very powerful leaders from Europe. And we're going to be meeting with them right after this meeting. And thank you very
much for being here.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Thank you so much, Mr. President. If I can, first of all, thank you for invitation and thank you
very much for your efforts, personal efforts to stop killings and stop this war. Thank you. And using this opportunity, many thanks to your wife. First
Lady of the United States. She sent a letter to Putin about our children, abducted children.
[13:20:00]
And my wife, she -- the first lady of Ukraine, she gave the letter. It's not to you, to your wife. Yes, yes, yes. So, we're saying this sensitive
topic. Yes, please. And thanks to our partners and that you supported this format, that after our meeting we can have leaders who are around us, U.K.
and France, Germany, Italy, Finland, I mean, all partners around Ukraine supporting us. Thanks to them and thank you very much for invitation.
TRUMP: Thank you very much for being here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think it's --
TRUMP: Yes, Peter, go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, President Trump. So, President Zelenskyy, you say in a post on X today, Russia must end this war, which it itself
started. President Trump, you say President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately if he wants to, which is it?
TRUMP: Yes, I think that's true. I think he'll we're going to have a meeting. I think we're going to -- if everything works out well today,
we'll have a trilat. And I think there will be a reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And is this the end of the road for American support for Ukraine? Is today's meeting deal or no deal?
TRUMP: I can never say that. It's never the end of the road. People are being killed and we want to stop that. So, I would not say it's the end of
the road. No, I think we have a good chance of doing it. It's been almost four years now that -- a lot of people were killed last week. A lot of
people, last week. I mean, millions of people killed, but a lot of people last week for whatever reason, a big number. A lot of soldiers, both, on
both sides. And I know the president, I know myself, and I believe Vladimir Putin wants to see it ended.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And as you -- you met with Putin on Friday, today you've got President Zelenskyy here. As you listen to Russia and Ukraine,
which side has the better cards right now?
TRUMP: Well, I don't want to say that. I'm just going to -- I'm just here to be -- look, this isn't my war. This is Joe Biden's war. He's the one
that -- it had a lot to do with this happening, and we want to get it ended and we wanted to end good for everybody. We want it to end good. The people
of Ukraine have suffered incredibly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Zelenskyy, are you prepared to keep sending Ukrainian troops to their deaths for another couple years or are you going
to agree to redraw the maps?
ZELENSKYY: Thank you for your question. So, first of all, you know, we live under each day attacks, you know, that today have been a lot of
attacks and a lot of wounded people, and the child was dead, it was a small one, one year and a half. So, we need to stop this war, to stop Russia, and
we need support, American and European partners. And we'll do our best for this.
So -- and I think we show that we are strong people and we supported the idea of the United States of -- personally of President Trump to stop this
war, to make a diplomatic way of finishing this war. And we are ready for trilateral, as president said. This is a good signal about trilateral. I
think this is very good. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. If the peace deal will be achieved, are you going to be willing to send American peacekeepers to Ukraine?
TRUMP: Well, we're going to work with Ukraine. We're going to work with everybody, and we're going to make sure that if this peace -- the peace is
going to stay long-term. This is very long-term. We're not talking about a two-year peace, and then we end up in this mess again. We're going to make
sure that everything's good. We'll work with Russia, we're going to work with Ukraine, and we're going to make sure it works. And I think if we can
get to peace, it's going to work. I have no doubt about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Zelenskyy --
TRUMP: Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your team has talked about security guarantees. Could that involve U.S. troops? Would you roll down in the future?
TRUMP: We'll let you know that maybe later today. We're meeting with seven great leaders of great countries also, and we'll be talking about that.
They'll all be involved, but there'll be a lot of help. When it comes to security. There's going to be a lot of help. It's going to be good. They
are first line of defense because they're there, they're Europe. But we're going to help them out also. We'll be involved. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) mention that the war will not end without addressing the root causes of this war. Do you -- have you had an
understanding what are the root causes of this war?
TRUMP: Well, look. The war is going to end. When it ends, I can't tell you. But the war is going to end and this gentleman wants it to end and
Vladimir Putin wants it to end. I think the whole world is tired of it and we're going to get it ended.
[13:25:00]
It was -- you know, I've done six wars, I've ended six wars, and I thought this maybe would be the easiest one. And it's not the easiest one. It's a
tough one. A lot of reasons for it. And they'll be talking about it for a long time, but they'll be talking about the others. Look, India, Pakistan,
we're talking about the big places. When you look at -- you just take a look at some of these wars, you go to Africa and take a look at that.
Rwanda and the Congo, Republic of the Congo, that's been going on for 31 years.
And so, we've done a total of six and we really have six, not including the fact that we obliterated and it turned out to be a total obliteration. The
nuclear in -- as you -- the nuclear -- the future nuclear capability of Iran. And this one I think we're going to get solved also. I think -- I
feel confident we're going to get it solved.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. President. Can you tell us about your conversations with European leaders and what they need to see to support an
end to the war?
TRUMP: Well, we're going to be meeting with a great representative group and seven very powerful, very big countries and great people, all friends
of mine and friends of yours. And we're going to have some suggestions made. They want to see peace. They would like to see peace.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said last night --
TRUMP: In the red. In the red.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Me? President Trump, do you think it's fair to -- for Ukraine and for Russia to achieve lasting and durable peace if Ukraine
cedes its territories that Russia hasn't yet conquered? Do you think it's a fair peace for Ukraine?
TRUMP: We're going to have a lasting peace. Just to answer the first part of your question, we're going to have a lasting peace. I hope it's going to
be immediately. I hope it doesn't have to go on and I think people of the whole world is going to be very happy when that's announced. Yes, please.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, you posted on social media, Mr. President, a very touching letter from the first lady and the letter was
hand delivered to President Putin. And it calls for an end to the war essentially because of the children and the children's future. Why did the
first lady feel that letter was necessary? Was it because she believed that Mr. Putin is the aggressor in the war? Is a similar letter being hand
delivered to President Zelenskyy?
TRUMP: So, the first lady felt very strongly. She's watched the same thing that you watch and that I watch. I see things that you don't get to see and
it's horrible. But when -- she's got a great love of children. She has a wonderful son that she loves, probably more than anybody, including me. I
hate to say it, but she loves her son. She loves children, and she hates to see something like this happening.
And that goes for other wars too. I mean, she sees the heartbreak, the parents, the funerals that you see on television, always funerals. We want
to see something other than funerals. No. She felt -- it was a beautiful letter. He -- it was very well received by him. And she did ask me to say,
you know, she would love to see this end. She would love to see it end. And she says it very openly, very proudly and with great sorrow because so many
people have been killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, last week --
TRUMP: Brian. Go ahead, Brian.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes, sir. I've got a question for each of you. First of all, President Zelenskyy, you look fabulous in that suit.
TRUMP: I said the same.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. You look good.
TRUMP: I said the same thing. (INAUDIBLE) that attacked you last time. You see, that was --
ZELENSKYY: I remember that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I apologize to you. You look wonderful. No. My first question for you, President Zelenskyy --
ZELENSKYY: And in the same suit. I changed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe yours is much better than mine. Real quickly upon peace, God willing we get peace, are you open to holding an election in
your country?
ZELENSKYY: Yes, of course. We're open for election, yes. We have to do safety circumstances and a little bit, we need to work in the parliament,
because during the war you can't have election. But we can do security. We need maybe -- how to say, we need a truth. Yes, everywhere in the
battlefield, in the sky and the sea. Yes. To make possible for people, to do democratic open legal elections.
TRUMP: So, you say during the war you can't have elections. So, let me just say three and a half years from now. So, you mean if we happen to be
in a war with somebody, no more elections? Oh, this -- I wonder what the --
ZELENSKYY: You like this idea?
[13:30:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Speaking of news, I got a question for you. This sounds insane for me even to ask this, but do you think the American media really
doesn't even want a peace deal because they seem they've been so critical of you every step of the way as you lead the charge for peace?
TRUMP: It's an amazing phenomenon. I said that if in the settlement you got Moscow, St. Petersburg and thousands of miles around them, they would
say, I made a bad deal. The level of hatred and animosity is incredible. Not with all. I mean, we have great people up here. We also have terrible
people up there that I think are told what to say.
But, you know, in solving all of these wars, they don't even write about it. You know, I saw major wars. I saw wars that have been going on for 31,
35 and 37, and a couple of quicker ones. One that was going to go into a full-blown deal very quickly, you know the one I'm talking about, it was a
big one. But they don't even write about that.
No matter what I do, no matter what -- and, you know, this is not anything to do with you. It's probably to your advantage in a certain way. But no
matter what I do, no matter what deal I make, from my standpoint, you'll come out good. Maybe President Putin will come out good. But they'll say
Trump was absolutely horrible. It's just that -- and I've lived with that for a long time. I've lived with it since -- just before the first
election.
I used to get great publicity. Now, I get the worst publicity anyone's ever gotten in office. But I wanted a landslide so that people understand.
They're the only ones that count to ultimately. But I've also had great reporters. I've had journalists that are very good. But it's very sad when
you do the right thing -- as an example, they said because of the fact that Vladimir Putin came to American soil, this was a tremendous defeat for
Donald Trump. No, it was really wonderful that he did it. It was a hard thing for him to do, to be honest with you. It was the opposite of what
they said, but they said it.
Now, if he didn't come, they'd say that was also bad for Trump. Yes. There's no way. And there's just a great dishonesty of the press, and I
think that's why it's lost its credibility. You know, its credibility is at an all-time low. We have a thing going on right now in D.C. We went from
the most unsafe place anywhere to a place that now people, friends are calling me up, Democrats are calling me up and they're saying, sir, I want
to thank you. My wife and I went out to dinner last night for the first time in four years and Washington, D.C. is safe, and you did that in four
days.
I'll tell you it's safe. I had another friend of mine, he has a son who's a great golfer, he is on tour, and he came in fourth yesterday in the big
tournament where Scottie Scheffler made the great shot. And he said his son is going to dinner in Washington, D.C. tonight. I said, would you have
allowed that to happen a year ago? He said, no way. No way. He said, what you've done is incredible. And I think the people realize it, but the press
says, he's a dictator. He is trying to take over. No, all I want is security for our people.
But people that haven't gone out to dinner in Washington, D.C. in two years are going out to dinner. And the restaurants the last two days were busier
than they've been in a long time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, I walked around. I walked around yesterday with MTG. If you can walk around with D.C. with MTG and not be attacked, the
city is safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. President. Last week you warned of what you called severe consequences if a 30-day ceasefire or any type of
ceasefire were not agreed to by Russia. Will there be severe consequences? Does that change because of meeting with President Putin?
TRUMP: I don't think you'd need a ceasefire. You know, if you look at the six deals that I settled this year, they were all at war. I didn't do any
ceasefires. And I know that it might be good to have, but I can also understand strategically who I -- well, you know, one country or the other
wouldn't want it. You have a ceasefire and they rebuild and rebuild and rebuild and, you know, maybe they don't want that.
But if you look at the six deals that we made peace on, you know, long- term, long running wars, I didn't do any ceasefires. Would I like -- I like the concept. You know, I like the concept of a ceasefire for one reason,
because you'd stop killing people immediately as opposed to in two weeks or one week or whatever it takes. But we can work a deal where we're working
on a peace deal while they're fighting. They have to fight. I wish they could stop. I'd like them to stop, but strategically, that could be a
disadvantage for one side or the other. But all of these deals I made without even the mention of the words ceasefire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Zelenskyy, are disappointed that there's no ceaefire?
[13:35:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) to offer Ukraine Article 5, like security guarantees, but stop short of pushing for their full membership?
TRUMP: Yes, well, we haven't done anything on that yet. If you look back and you go back long before President Putin, it was always a statement that
there would never allow Ukraine into NATO. So, that was a statement that was made, but we haven't discussed any of that yet. We're going to be
discussing it today. But we will give them very good protection, very good security. That's part of it. And the people that are waiting for us, they
are -- I think they're very like-minded. They want to help out also.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, President Trump --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you disappointed there's no ceasefire --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The United States has already given hundreds of billions of dollars to this war effort in Ukraine. At best, it is a
stalemate, and the killing continues. So, President Trump, how much more is the United States willing to give Ukraine? And, President Zelenskyy, how
much more do you want?
TRUMP: Well, I'll start off just by saying we're not giving anything now. We're selling weapons. This is something before -- I guess the number is
well over $300 billion. That was under Joe Biden, a corrupt politician. Not a smart man. Never was. By the way, go back 40 years, he was not a smart
man 40 years ago either. But now he's in particular bad.
This was done by a corrupt administration that shouldn't have been in and of the -- and frankly, if the right results of the election were given, if
I were president, this war would've never taken place. And he would've been very happy because he would've liked to have seen -- I mean, they went
through hell. He went through hell. This war would've never happened. And the people that were killed, a couple of million people, a lot of people
with soldiers and everything else, and the people that have been displaced and forced into other areas and other countries because of what's happened,
none of that would've happened.
And I'm just saying that he was a horrible president, whether it was the borders or this, he was just a horrible, corrupt president.
Do you want to answer that?
ZELENSKYY: I can. Thank you so much. So, first of all, we have possibility now to buy weapons from the United States. We're thankful for this program
and this opportunity. We're thankful for Europe. They pay for this and through need program, for example, (INAUDIBLE) and et cetera. We have some
programs where we can have some money to finance this. And this is a part, I think, it's not a part for the war and to defend us. It also will be a
part for security guarantees, to strengthen our army, to re-arm Ukrainian army.
This is very, very important. And it depends how much money we need to rearm. For example, the question of air defense, we spoke about it with
President Trump, and I'm happy that we have now bilateral decisions and we work on it with production, American production. Nobody in Europe has so
many air defenses like Patriots, for example. We need it very much. And this is also about defending.
TRUMP: And I think -- you know, I think the good news, we make the best military equipment in the world by far. You mentioned the Patriots. How
good are they?
ZELENSKYY: Yes. Systems.
TRUMP: We have systems. They're literally a hundred percent foolproof. And it's really like shooting two bullets, you know, two bullets hitting each
other in the air in a space like this. That chance is a hundred percent, it's 99 to a hundred percent. So, we sell the equipment to NATO. And NATO
does what -- I don't know what the arrangement is that you have with, but I know that they want you to have that equipment. And we're getting the best
equipment in the world, but they pay us for the equipment.
Under Biden, it was just crazy what was going on. I believe the numbers over 300, I think it could be $350 billion worth of equipment and money and
everything else. And we've made more progress in settling this war in the last two months than they made in four years. They should have been settled
a long time ago, but it should have never happened. Yes. Please.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You pushed out on social media.
TRUMP: Brian, go ahead. Go first.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You pushed out on social media about doing away with mail-in ballots and potentially electronic voting machines. Can you explain
on that and how important it is?
TRUMP: Well, that's a very off topic. Just very quickly, mail-in ballots are corrupt. Mail-in ballots -- you could never have a real democracy with
mail-in ballots. And we as a Republican Party are going to do everything possible that we get rid of mail-in ballots. We're going to start with an
executive order that's being written right now by the best lawyers in the country to end mail-in ballots because they're corrupt.
And, you know that we're the only country in the world, I believe, I may be wrong, but just about the only country in the world that uses it because of
what's happened. Massive fraud all over the place. The other thing we want changed are the machines. For all of the money they spend, it's
approximately 10 times more expensive than paper ballots.
[13:40:00]
And paper ballots are very sophisticated with the watermark paper and everything else. We would get secure elections. We'd get much faster
results. The machines, I mean, they say we're going to have the results in two weeks. With paper ballots, you have the results that night. Most
people, almost are -- but most people, many countries use paper ballots. It's the most secure form. So, between paper ballots -- very important,
paper ballots and I think maybe even more important, the mail-in voting, we're going to end mail-in voting. It's a fraud. If you have mail-in vote -
- even Jimmy Carter with this commission, they set it up. He said the one thing about mail-in voting, you'll never have an honest selection if you
have mail-in.
And it's time that the Republicans get tough and stop it. Because the Democrats want it. It's the only way they can get elected. Because with men
and women's sports, and with transgender for everybody and open borders and all of the horrible thing, and now the new thing is they love crime.
They're fighting me on the fact that I've made Washington, D.C. safe. We're not going to get mugged, beaten up, or killed like all the people you've
been watching get so badly hurt.
I'm glad -- I hate to take your time with this, but I'm glad you asked me that question. We're going to stop mail-in ballots because it's corrupt.
You know, when you go to a voting booth and you do it the right way and you go to a state that runs it properly, you go in. They even asked me, they
asked me for my license plate for -- I said, I don't know if I have it. They said, sir, you have to have it. I was very impressed, actually.
But it's very hard to cheat with mail-in voting as, you know what happens in California, it's so corrupt. Where some people get 5, 6, 7 ballots
delivered to them. Now, we got to stop mail-in voting, and the Republicans have to lead the charge. The Democrats want it because they have horrible
policy. If you have mail-in voting, you're not going to have many Democrats get elected. That's bigger than anything having to do with redistricting
believe me. And the Republicans have to get smart.
We're not going to have a country, I said for a long time at rallies every -- you need borders and you need free and fair elections, those two things.
Otherwise, you don't have -- we have strong borders now. In 90 days, Mr. President, we didn't have one. Zero, zero in three months. Not one person
came in illegally into our country. In fact, even I find that hard to believe, but it's run by a little bit of a liberal group that put out the
numbers.
So, I guess it's -- but zero, zero, and zero. You go back a year ago, two years ago, three -- millions of people poured into our country. It was
terrible. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What security guarantees do you need from President Trump to be able to make a deal? Is it American troops, intelligent
equipment? What is it?
ZELENSKYY: Everything. And really, we -- it's includes two part. First, strong Ukrainian army that I began to discuss with your colleagues and it's
a lot about weapon and then people and training missions and intelligence. And second, it'll -- we will discuss with our partners. It depends on big
countries, on the United States, on a lot of our friends.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, are you willing to commit American troops to that NATO like protection in order to get President Zelenskyy to
a deal today?
TRUMP: Well, I don't know if you define it that way, but NATO like, I mean, we are going to give -- we have people waiting in another room right
now. They're all here from Europe, biggest people in Europe, and they want to give protection. They feel very strongly about it, and we'll help them
out with that. I think it's very important. I think it's very important to get the deal with that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've been involved with the peacekeeping in Ukraine since your first day in the administration. What would you say to the
Ukrainian people right now who are suffering under the Russian attacks and hoping that the American people will stand with them?
TRUMP: Well, I know Ukrainian people. I've known many over the years. They're great people. They're smart. They're energetic. They love their
country. I mean, they love their country, and we want to get this war ended. That's all I can do. I love the Ukrainian people, but I love all
people. I love the Russian people. I love them all. I want to get the war stopped. Very important.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, was there any aspect of your discussion with Vladimir Putin that left you disappointed?
TRUMP: Look we just spoke to -- I was just telling the president, I just spoke to President Putin indirectly, and we're going to have a phone call
right after these meetings today. And we may or may not have a trilat. If we don't have a trilat, then the fighting continues. And if we do, we have
a good chance. I think if we have a trilat, there's a good chance of maybe ending it.
[13:45:00]
But he's expecting my call when we're finished with this meeting. Thank you very much.
GOLODRYGA: All right. You've been listening to a much more cordial and friendly bilateral meeting between President Trump and President Zelenskyy
before reporters there in the Oval Office. The second time they have met in the Oval Office since President Trump has taken office his second term.
That first meeting you'll recall back in February ended with President Zelenskyy essentially being kicked out after being shouted down by both the
president and the vice president. This time. we saw a much more cordial, friendly exchange between these two leaders. President Zelenskyy entering
the Oval Office beginning by praising both President Trump, his administration, the United States, for all of their support for Ukraine
throughout this war.
And then, notably referencing President Trump's wife, the first lady, Melania Trump, and her letter that he had delivered personally to President
Putin written by Melania Trump regarding the abducted Ukrainian children that had been forced from Ukraine, had been separated from their families
and taken into Russia, President Zelenskyy thanking the first lady for that. And then, saying that the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, had
also written a letter for First Lady Melania Trump.
Then the two got into the conversations or answered questions about the future of any sort of trilateral meeting between President Trump, President
Zelenskyy, and President Putin that could take place within a matter of days, as President Trump said he was going to end this meeting and get on a
call with President Putin to update him on all that had been discussed.
I do want to turn to Andrea Kendall-Taylor who's been listening to this meeting. She's a former CIA analyst, now a senior fellow at the Center for
a New American Security. Andrea, it is good to see you. No specifics coming out of this pool spray. A number of questions that were asked of President
Trump and President Zelenskyy specifically as it relates to continued U.S. support, what security guarantees would be enough to quell some of the
concerns of President Zelenskyy most notably, nothing definitive laid out by President Trump other than everyone wanting to bring this war to an end.
We'll see what's going to be discussed behind closed doors.
But from what you heard, what stood out to you most and what do you make of this urgent call for a trilateral meeting or attempts for a meeting that
President Trump really wants to seemingly get on the calendar?
ANDREA KENDALL-TAYLOR, SENIOR FELLOW, CENTER FOR NEW AMERICAN SECURITY: Well, I think -- well, first of all, I'll say very candidly that that went
better than I had expected. I think that President Trump was much more pragmatic and more balanced than I feared coming out of the Alaska meeting
and based on some of his social media going into the summit. So, I think that was somewhat positive.
But as you said, Bianna, the devil is always in the details. And there are a lot of things that still need to be worked out behind closed doors, as
the president said. My sense is that the two sides are still quite far apart. The big issues that have to be discussed, as you said, are the issue
of security guarantees, the issue of the size of Ukraine's military and its defense industrial base and the territorial issue. So, there's still a lot
of major issues that need to be worked through.
And so, I remain a bit skeptical about the potential for this to move forward on the same timeline that President Trump has suggested that he's
optimistic that things will get done soon.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Why do you think there's this real push from President Trump for that bilateral meeting -- for the trilateral meeting between the
three leaders? Because it does seem like the goalpost continue to move. First, it was all eyes on that summit between President Trump and President
Putin on Friday. Now, it's this meeting between President Zelenskyy and President Trump, as well as the seven European leaders. And then, now, the
president is already looking for a trilateral meeting between the three parties.
President Putin from, at least my understanding, hasn't really offered anything. You talk about President Trump being pragmatic. I don't see that
from President Putin on his side. In fact, he's demanding more today than he did from his last meeting with Envoy Steve Witkoff, just a few months
ago.
[13:50:00]
KENDALL-TAYLOR: Well, that's why I say I think the two sides are still as far apart as they've ever been, and we hear a lot on the security
guarantees piece of this. I will say that I think one of the things that stood out to me in this meeting was President Trump's very public embrace
of participating in a future security guarantee for Ukraine. So, that's really positive and I think -- I hope that European leaders and the
Ukrainians will continue to work with that and get the United States to take on as big of a role as possible.
But, you know, I just don't see, at this stage, how the United States and Ukraine can square the circle with Russia, because as you said, Bianna,
Putin continues to insist that there be limits on the size of Ukraine's military and its defense industry. He talks about not accepting NATO or
U.S. or European troops on Ukrainian soil. He -- and so, there are all of these issues that I think when you dig down into the details of what a
security guarantee means for Ukraine, many of those component parts President Putin has said he's not willing to accept.
And so, that's, again, the devil is in the details, and I'm not sure that President Trump understands what pushback he'll get from Putin when they go
down this path of fully fleshing out what that means.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. In fact, I think the only deliverable that President Trump was able to walk away with from that meeting with Putin on Friday was Putin
agreeing with him that -- and this is a counterfactual obviously, that the war wouldn't have started in Ukraine, that Russia wouldn't have launched
its second war against Ukraine if President Trump had been in office. And that is something that he continues to repeat, I think, especially when
he's frustrated with the peace effort stalling constantly going back to blaming President Biden for this war. Andrea Kendall-Taylor, thank you so
much.
I do want to bring back in Lithuania's former Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, who has been with us this hour and joins me again. So, much
different in terms of tone, in terms of relationship and pleasantries between these two leaders. President Zelenskyy coming in and really giving
President Trump not only praise for his support of Ukraine, but also the floor. For much of this conversation, we didn't hear from other
participants there. Vice President Vance didn't engage in this either.
But from what stood out to you about any facts, any details as to what could bring possibly the end of the war, not just a ceasefire, President
Trump says now he doesn't do ceasefires. He wants to bring this war to an end. I didn't hear any specifics into how that will come about. I'm
wondering what your takeaway was.
LANDSBERGIS: Well, when it comes to the things that were given by President Zelenskyy was also a letter to first lady. I think that was an
important diplomatic gesture. And I hope that it will be appreciated as a - - you know, because these moments really do sometimes matter.
What gives me hope is the -- you know, that the continuation of talks about security guarantees. Really, I do agree with those who are saying that real
security guarantees are of NATO, basically Article 5. But since President Trump is still talking about this, hopefully, you know, the conversation
will continue with other European leaders, and that actually kind of provides me hope.
What I find worrying is the normalization of already occupied territories staying with Russia. Basically, it's already a major win when Putin hears
these things being said out loud by the leaders, that these territories that Russia currently holds, that they are considered, well, at least de
facto Russian. This gives Putin opportunity to at least think and plan for continuation of his aggression. Even 24 hours, if -- even after 24 hours
when the peace is agreed, he can continue because he got such a great win already.
GOLODRYGA: Right. And President Trump and President Zelenskyy both reiterating that they'd like to see a lasting peace, not just a temporary
pause in the hostilities here. President Trump also noting that as soon as this meeting with President Zelenskyy and then the seven European leaders
ends he will be calling President Trump and updating -- President Putin and updating him on the status and the takeaway from these negotiations and
conversations as well. Gabrielius Landsbergis, just thank you so much for joining us.
It has been a very busy hour, about 45 minutes that we saw President Trump and President Zelenskyy answering questions from reporters in the Oval
Office before the two of them will be engaging in a bilateral meeting, followed by a meeting with the seven European leaders as well.
[13:55:00]
I'm Bianna Golodryga. You have been watching an extended special edition of "One World." And to recap, once again, we heard from both presidents. The
two meeting at the White House trying to bring this war to an end in Ukraine. Donald Trump saying a trilateral meeting will happen between
himself. President Zelenskyy and President Putin, quote, "If everything works out well today.:" Also, at the White House are our leaders from
across Europe. President Trump, as noted, said that he will have a phone conversation with President Putin after he meets with those European
leaders.
Isa Soares picking up our coverage. Stay with us after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:00:00]
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