Six months after a tense and frosty reception in the Oval Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky returned to Washington on Monday for a high-stakes meeting with US President Donald Trump. This time, however, the atmosphere was markedly different. Instead of wearing his usual military-style attire, Zelensky arrived at the White House on Monday in a black suit and shirt, a subtle but unmistakable nod to earlier criticism and a calculated step toward softening the atmosphere. This comes following the fierce criticism he received back in February Trump’s Vice President JD Vance who saw his attire as being too informal for the Oval Office.
Donald Trump, clearly pleased with the outfit, greeted him with an enthusiastic handshake and exclaimed: “I can’t believe it—I love it!” MAGA reporter, Brian Glenn, who last time asked him: “Do you even own a suit?” told Zelensky this time: “First of all, president Zelensky, you look fabulous in that suit. You look good.”
Trump then nodded toward the reporter and said with a grin, “That’s the guy who went after you”, prompting Zelensky to smile and reply, “I remember.”
During brief public remarks in the Oval Office, the Ukrainian president thanked Trump seven times in under a minute, a striking contrast to their meeting in February, when Trump bluntly told Zelensky that he wasn’t “acting at all thankful” for the support Ukraine had received from the United States and Zelensky leaving earlier than planned.
President Zelensky said: “Thanks so much, Mr President.
“If I can, first of all, thank you for the invitation, and thank you very much for your efforts, personal efforts, to stop killings and stop this war. Thank you.”
This time, Zelensky brought with him not just a deliberate shift in attire and tone but also a strong diplomatic backing from Europe.
Determined not to face Trump alone this time, Zelensky was joined by a delegation of heavyweight European leaders: NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and German CDU leader Friedrich Merz.
In addition to the Oval Office meeting, a summit was held at the White House where European leaders joined Trump and Zelensky to discuss ongoing support for Ukraine and coordinate approaches to the conflict.
In a post shared to TruthSocial, Donald Trump wrote: “A big day at the White House. We have never had so many European Leaders here at one time. A great honour for America!!! Lets see what the results will be???”
Zelensky’s return to Washington came just days after Trump’s controversial meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, a summit that left European allies wary of what kind of deal might be taking shape behind closed doors.
