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Chief of staff expresses regret over Cameras at Trump-Zelenskyy meeting
(MENAFN) The White House chief of staff has expressed regret over allowing cameras into a tense Oval Office meeting earlier this year between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to a report released Tuesday.
Reflecting on the February encounter, which was broadcast publicly and featured sharp criticism of Zelenskyy from Trump and Vice President JD Vance, the chief of staff said the situation would have been handled differently in hindsight. “If we had it to do over ... I wouldn't have cameras, because it was going to end that way,” she said, referencing the highly charged exchange.
She argued that the clash stemmed from what she described as “churlish” conduct by Zelenskyy and members of his delegation. According to her account, tensions began earlier when Zelenskyy did not attend a planned meeting in Kyiv with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that was intended to address negotiations over mineral rights.
Describing the atmosphere surrounding the encounter, she said, “It just was a bad sort of sentiment all the way around. And I wouldn't say JD snapped, because he's too controlled for that. But I think he'd just had enough.”
The report, which was based on more than 10 interviews conducted over the course of the year, also highlighted internal disagreements within Trump’s circle over policy toward the war in Ukraine. According to those accounts, aides are divided over whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking full control of Ukraine or would settle for limited territorial gains.
Addressing those debates, the chief of staff recalled a discussion from August, saying, “The experts think that if he could get the rest of (the eastern region of) Donetsk, then he would be happy.” However, she noted that Trump was more skeptical of any compromise, adding, “Donald Trump thinks he wants the whole country.”
She also commented on Trump’s long-standing relationship with Putin, recalling their 2018 meeting in Helsinki during Trump’s first term. She described observing “a real sort of friendship there, or at least an admiration,” while noting that more recent phone conversations between the two leaders have been “very mixed.”
After the report was published, the chief of staff responded forcefully on a U.S.-based social media platform, criticizing the piece as “a disingenuously framed hit piece” that she said ignored key context and left out favorable remarks about Trump and his team. She added, “I have been honored to work for (Trump) the better part of a decade.”
A White House spokesperson later publicly defended her, stating: “President Trump has no greater or more loyal advisor than Susie. The entire administration is grateful for her steady leadership and united fully behind her.”
Reflecting on the February encounter, which was broadcast publicly and featured sharp criticism of Zelenskyy from Trump and Vice President JD Vance, the chief of staff said the situation would have been handled differently in hindsight. “If we had it to do over ... I wouldn't have cameras, because it was going to end that way,” she said, referencing the highly charged exchange.
She argued that the clash stemmed from what she described as “churlish” conduct by Zelenskyy and members of his delegation. According to her account, tensions began earlier when Zelenskyy did not attend a planned meeting in Kyiv with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that was intended to address negotiations over mineral rights.
Describing the atmosphere surrounding the encounter, she said, “It just was a bad sort of sentiment all the way around. And I wouldn't say JD snapped, because he's too controlled for that. But I think he'd just had enough.”
The report, which was based on more than 10 interviews conducted over the course of the year, also highlighted internal disagreements within Trump’s circle over policy toward the war in Ukraine. According to those accounts, aides are divided over whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking full control of Ukraine or would settle for limited territorial gains.
Addressing those debates, the chief of staff recalled a discussion from August, saying, “The experts think that if he could get the rest of (the eastern region of) Donetsk, then he would be happy.” However, she noted that Trump was more skeptical of any compromise, adding, “Donald Trump thinks he wants the whole country.”
She also commented on Trump’s long-standing relationship with Putin, recalling their 2018 meeting in Helsinki during Trump’s first term. She described observing “a real sort of friendship there, or at least an admiration,” while noting that more recent phone conversations between the two leaders have been “very mixed.”
After the report was published, the chief of staff responded forcefully on a U.S.-based social media platform, criticizing the piece as “a disingenuously framed hit piece” that she said ignored key context and left out favorable remarks about Trump and his team. She added, “I have been honored to work for (Trump) the better part of a decade.”
A White House spokesperson later publicly defended her, stating: “President Trump has no greater or more loyal advisor than Susie. The entire administration is grateful for her steady leadership and united fully behind her.”
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