Trump’s ‘dizzying’ relationship with Zelenskypublished at 14:07 BST
Gary O’Donoghue
Chief North America correspondent, reporting from Washington DC
There was a time when the Trump-Zelensky relationship looked, to put it politely, totally shattered. Back in February 2025, in that now infamous Oval Office meeting, Trump told Zelensky he was “gambling with World War III” and being “disrespectful”.
At other points he variously called him a “dictator” and a “modestly successful comedian” – a reference to Zelensky’s previous life.
Today’s sit-down couldn’t feel more different. At this month’s Nato summit in Ankara, Trump was practically gushing: “We’ve actually developed a good relationship. It’s hard to believe.” He even called Ukraine’s deep strikes into Russian territory “positive” — The turnaround is dizzying.
So what’s changed? Ukraine’s battlefield successes, with increasingly bold drone strikes deep inside Russia have clearly impressed a president who respects winners more than anything else.
Nato’s fresh $80bn pledge for Kyiv hasn’t hurt either. At home, there’s also movement within the Maga base itself — the dramatic turnaround in view by the rightwing activist, Laura Loomer, after visiting Kyiv, which Trump himself praised online with a perfunctory, but positive “Very good!!”, is a sign of views on the move.
But we know Trump’s attitudes can “turn on a dime” – as they say in this country – so expect the unexpected.
