Donald Trump invited Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy back to the White House, and after their disastrous meeting in February, Zelenskyy wasn’t coming without backup. To stand behind him, both literally and figuratively, seven European leaders traveled to the White House, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Keep reading for more information.
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European Leaders Travel To The White House
The purpose of the meeting stems from Trump's desire to end Russia's war in Ukraine. The European leaders came to stand with Ukraine, and to underscore the importance of not ceding any land to Russia. This marks the first time in modern history that a large group of European leaders all convened at the White House at the same time to back a single leader and a single issue.
So did it do any good? Well, Trump did agree to keep military support from the US flowing to Ukraine, especially air defense systems, but he did rule out sending any troops. The European leaders made it clear they would not support any peace plan that forced Ukraine to give up territory. Zelenskyy also escaped without being berated by Trump or VP JD Vance, opting for "gratitude diplomacy" (he thanked Trump nine times in the first minute of being there).
However, no treaties were signed, no peace talk between Zelenskyy, Trump, and Russia's President Vladimir Putin has been scheduled (though this is more Putin's fault, he said that talks not initiated by Russia were "a road to nowhere."), and Trump was super vague about whether or not the US would actually intervene militarily if Ukraine was attacked again.
Social Media Reactions
But, it's important to recognize that a united front like this hasn't graced the halls of the White House in modern history. European leaders dropping whatever was on their busy schedule for that day to back Zelenskyy and defend Ukraine was definitely a big move, and that's clear to both Trump and Putin. Users on social media were excited to witness such a political showdown.
"None of them trust Trump so they all want to be in the room," one person wrote on TikTok.
"Zelenskyy needs all the support after that disastrous fiasco meeting in February," another wrote.
"The grown ups are going to sit him down and have a talk," another joked.
"Europe won't take any nonsense from Putin or from Trump," another pointed out. "Remember, we have history dealing with their sort in the 1930s and 40s."
"They know DJT isn't trustworthy and are putting the entire west of Russia in danger by bowing to a dictator."
"You know it's bad when Europe is uniting after like 3000 years of fighting and hating each other," a final comment reads.
So What Happened Back In February?
The meeting began with Trump assuring reporters that they’re planning on signing the natural resources agreement and make progress on negotiating a peace deal. However, the meeting quickly turned sour, when Trump and Vance began accusing Zelenskyy of being “disrespectful” for trying to talk about policy in front of American journalists.
“Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems,” Vance said to the Ukrainian president. “You should be thanking the president for trying to bring you into this conference.”
Later in the conversation, Trump brought up “World War III,” saying “You’re gambling with World War II, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have.”
