Pennsylvania governor condemns Trump’s attack on Zelensky, says he cowered to Putin

Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania, has condemned United States President Donald Trump’s verbal attack on Volodymyr Zelensky, his Ukrainian counterpart.

A meeting initially intended to finalise a US-Ukraine minerals deal and discuss peace efforts with Russia escalated into a shouting match between Trump and Zelensky on Friday at the Oval Office.

Trump accused Zelensky of “gambling with World War Three” and being ungrateful for US support since Russia’s invasion.

The Ukrainian president criticised Trump’s trust in Russian diplomacy, citing Moscow’s history of broken promises.

Vice-President JD Vance accused Zelensky of being disrespectful and ungrateful, pointing to Ukraine’s reliance on US aid, inflaming tensions, with Trump backing Vance’s remarks.

The confrontation ended abruptly, with Zelensky and his delegation being asked to leave the White House early.

The conversation stirred mixed reactions from US government officials.

While many Republicans praised Trump’s stance during the meeting, Democrats strongly condemned Trump’s behaviour, accusing him of doing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “dirty work” by berating Zelensky.

In a statement after the contentious meeting, Shapiro said he watched the clash in shock.

“The Oval Office should be a place where we advance American values—not where we retreat from them,” the Democrat governor said.

“When the President and Vice President attacked President Zelenskyy today, they served to undermine the safety and security of America and our national security interests.

“I support a diplomatic end to this war. Achieving this requires an honest reckoning of who started the war and who the aggressor is, and to that question, there is only one answer: Russia.”

Shapiro accused the Trump-Vance administration of alienating many US allies, labelling it as a “weakness that does not serve the interests of freedom and liberty, and it will create a more dangerous world”.

“Strong leaders stand with their allies, and they stand on their principles—and I believe we must continue to advocate for the values of freedom and liberty, not cower to dangerous dictators like Vladimir Putin,” he said.

Trump later posted on Truth Social that Zelensky could return “when he is ready for peace”.