Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a series of pointed messages on X after Friday’s disastrous Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump.
“Thank you, America. Thank you for your support. Thank you for this visit. Thank you, @POTUS, Congress, and the American people,” Zelensky wrote just 40 minutes after he left the White House. More than 15 million users have since seen the post.
Some users have interpreted the post—stacked with four “thank yous”—as a response to earlier remarks by Vice President J.D. Vance, who spent the meeting chastising Zelensky for failing to show enough gratitude to Trump and the United States amid the Russian invasion.
Since that first comment, Zelensky has amplified European leaders’ messages of support for Ukraine on X by reposting and responding to each one with the same simple phrase: “Thank you for your support.”
Following news of Trump’s hostility toward Zelensky at the White House, European leaders quickly voiced their solidarity with Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez were among those who offered support on X.
During the meeting in the Oval Office, as Trump and Zelensky talked over each other in front of cameras, Vance prodded Zelensky: “Have you said ‘thank you’ once this entire meeting?”
“A lot of times,” Zelensky shot back, “even today.”
That wasn’t enough for Vance, who kept pressing, demanding that Zelensky offer “words of appreciation” to the U.S. and its president.
When Zelensky finally got a chance to speak, he attempted to heed Vance’s request: “Mr. President, we are staying in our country—staying strong from the very beginning of the war. We have been alone. And we are thankful. I have said thanks in this cabinet. I said ‘thank you’ … ”
But Trump, growing agitated, cut him off again. The president ranted about former President Joe Biden’s financial support for Ukraine.
Trump wrapped up the meeting in a hurry, abruptly kicking Zelensky out of the White House.
