Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a recent interview that bad faith negotiations were likely the driving force behind President Donald Trump’s obvious animus toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Rubio spoke with independent journalist Catherine Herridge about the president’s very public spat with Zelensky, and he argued that Trump may have good reason to be frustrated with the Ukrainian leader.

WATCH:

Herridge began with Trump’s post labeling Zelensky “a dictator without elections,” asking Rubio what he made of that.

“I think President Trump is very upset at President Zelensky in some cases, and rightfully so,” he replied.

He referenced former President Joe Biden, saying that he too had been frustrated by Zelensky — first by his repeated requests for money and then by the fact that, once the United States gave him money or weapons, he went to the press to complain publicly about what he hadn’t been given.

“There are newspaper articles out there about how he cursed at him in a phone call because Zelensky, instead of saying thank you for all your help, is immediately out there messaging what we’re not doing or what he’s not getting,” Rubio explained.

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“I think the second thing is, personally, I was very upset because we had a conversation with President Zelensky, the vice president and I, the three of us, and we discussed this issue about the mineral rights,” Rubio continued. “We explained to them, look, we want to be in a joint venture with you, not because we want to steal from your country, but because we think that’s actually a security guarantee.”

He went on to explain that if the United States partnered with Ukraine in a joint economic project, it would result in both the United States being able to eventually recoup some of the nearly $200 billion American taxpayers had already invested — and it would also give the United States a vested interest in ensuring Ukraine’s security.

“[Zelensky] said, ‘Sure, we want to do this deal, it makes all the sense in the world. The only thing is, I need to run it through my legislative process. They have to approve it,’” Rubio said. “I read two days later that Zelensky’s out there saying, ‘I rejected the deal, I told him no way, that we’re not doing that’ — but that’s not what happened in that meeting.”

Rubio explained that the anger and frustration came from the fact that the United States was trying to help Ukraine, but Zelensky was getting in his own way by saying one thing in private negotiations and another in public.

“We care about [Ukraine] because it has implications for our allies and ultimately for the world,” he added. “But there should be some level of gratitude here about this, and when you don’t see it and you see him out there accusing the president of living in a world of disinformation, that’s highly — very counterproductive. I don’t need to explain to you or anybody else, Donald Trump — President Trump’s not the kind of person that’s going to sit there and take that, he was very transparent. He’s going to tell you exactly how he feels,  and he sent a message that he’s not going to get gamed here.”

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a recent interview that bad faith negotiations were likely the driving force behind President Donald Trump’s obvious animus toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Rubio spoke with independent journalist Catherine Herridge about the president’s very public spat with Zelensky, and he argued that Trump may have good reason to be frustrated with the Ukrainian leader.

WATCH:

Herridge began with Trump’s post labeling Zelensky “a dictator without elections,” asking Rubio what he made of that.

“I think President Trump is very upset at President Zelensky in some cases, and rightfully so,” he replied.

He referenced former President Joe Biden, saying that he too had been frustrated by Zelensky — first by his repeated requests for money and then by the fact that, once the United States gave him money or weapons, he went to the press to complain publicly about what he hadn’t been given.

“There are newspaper articles out there about how he cursed at him in a phone call because Zelensky, instead of saying thank you for all your help, is immediately out there messaging what we’re not doing or what he’s not getting,” Rubio explained.

PRESIDENTS’ DAY SALE! 40% Off DailyWire+ Annual Memberships With Code DW40

“I think the second thing is, personally, I was very upset because we had a conversation with President Zelensky, the vice president and I, the three of us, and we discussed this issue about the mineral rights,” Rubio continued. “We explained to them, look, we want to be in a joint venture with you, not because we want to steal from your country, but because we think that’s actually a security guarantee.”

He went on to explain that if the United States partnered with Ukraine in a joint economic project, it would result in both the United States being able to eventually recoup some of the nearly $200 billion American taxpayers had already invested — and it would also give the United States a vested interest in ensuring Ukraine’s security.

“[Zelensky] said, ‘Sure, we want to do this deal, it makes all the sense in the world. The only thing is, I need to run it through my legislative process. They have to approve it,’” Rubio said. “I read two days later that Zelensky’s out there saying, ‘I rejected the deal, I told him no way, that we’re not doing that’ — but that’s not what happened in that meeting.”

Rubio explained that the anger and frustration came from the fact that the United States was trying to help Ukraine, but Zelensky was getting in his own way by saying one thing in private negotiations and another in public.

“We care about [Ukraine] because it has implications for our allies and ultimately for the world,” he added. “But there should be some level of gratitude here about this, and when you don’t see it and you see him out there accusing the president of living in a world of disinformation, that’s highly — very counterproductive. I don’t need to explain to you or anybody else, Donald Trump — President Trump’s not the kind of person that’s going to sit there and take that, he was very transparent. He’s going to tell you exactly how he feels,  and he sent a message that he’s not going to get gamed here.”

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