President Donald Trump read a letter he received from Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Congress yesterday (4 March), following the pair’s rather heated meeting recently at the White House.

On February 28, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, 47, met with Trump, 78, and US Vice President JD Vance, 40, at the White House for a joint press conference. They were also meant to sign a rare earth minerals deal.

However, angry scenes ensued, with the US leader claiming Zelenkyy was ‘gambling with World War III’ and the ‘lives of millions of people’ amid Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine.

“You either make a deal or we are out,” Trump claimed. “Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.”

At one point, Vance also remarked that Zelenskyy had not ‘said thank you’ for the ongoing support of the US during the meeting.

Following the heated exchange, the joint press conference was cancelled and the politician was asked to leave the White House.

In the days following, Zelenskyy issued a thank you to US citizens and Trump for their ‘support’ and now, it appears he has sent a letter, stating his country is ready to work with the US.

“Earlier today I received I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine,” Trump began as he addressed a joint session of Congress in Washington on Tuesday (March 4).

“Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible. To bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians, he said.”

Clapping could be heard as the 47th President of the United States continued to read.

“My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.

“We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence.”

President Zelenskyy’s letter was read out in Congress (Peter Nicholls – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

The notice continued to say that regarding the agreement on earth minerals – which was also abandoned after the pair’s fiery meeting in the Oval Office – the country is ‘ready’ to sign at ‘any’ convenient time.

Following the reading, Trump praised Zelenskyy for sending him the letter, telling the audience that he ‘appreciated’ the gesture.

The businessman also claimed there had been ‘serious discussions’ with Russia and that he’d received ‘strong signals that they are ready for peace’.

Trump, however, did not stipulate when these alleged talks had taken place, and whether he was involved in them.

“It’s time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides,” he added.

Trump also thanked Elon Musk during the speech (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Ukraine has not publicly commented on the letter, which was reportedly received early on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in the address, Trump claimed his current administration was the ‘most successful in the history of our nation’ before thanking Elon Musk for heading up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

“Thank you Elon, you’re working really hard,” The Daily Mail reports. “He didn’t need this.”

DOGE, which is considered an initiative rather than a legal government office, is tasked with reducing federal spending.

53-year-old Musk has also vowed to give taxpayers money back while cutting the US’ national debt, which currently stands at an eye-watering $36.22 trillion, as per US Treasury Fiscal Data.

Words the US President Donald Trump reportedly said about Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their tumultuous Oval Office meeting have reportedly been revealed after being picked up by a hot mic.

On February 28, President Zelenskyy, 47, attended a meeting with Trump, 78, at the White House, with plans to take part in a joint press conference and sign a rare earth minerals deal.

The pair exchanged heated words in Washington, with the 47th POTUS accusing the politician of ‘gambling with World War III’ and of not having the ‘cards’ to continue its fight with Russia.

It appeared Trump also winked at a journalist who questioned the Ukrainian leader on why he didn’t wear a suit to their meeting.

Zelenskyy proceeded to leave the US capital early after the press conference was cancelled, heading to the UK to meet with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer ahead of an international security summit.

Previously, it was debated whether Zelenskyy exited the White House on his own merit, or whether he was ordered to leave.

The latter appears to be correct, if reports of a hot mic catching President Trump’s orders can be believed.

The Daily Mail claims that The Apprentice mogul instructed his aides to take Zelenskyy from the Oval Office to a room down the hall called the Roosevelt room.

It was there that he and his team were allegedly informed that Trump wanted them off the premises.

A hot mic has reportedly picked up what Trump said after the exchange (ABC 7News)

Speaking to an aide as press left the room, Trump said: “You’re right, maybe we should [inaudible]. Let’s have a little something…

“Would you bring them to the Roosevelt Room?”

In the wake of the fiery meeting, Zelenskyy has thanked the US and Trump for their ongoing support via social media.

The message came after Vice President JD Vance, 40, criticised Zelenskyy for ‘not saying thank you’ during the heated exchange.

“Do you think it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America that’s trying to prevent the destruction of your country?” Vance quelled.

“Have you said thank you once? During this entire meeting?”

After defending himself, Zelenskyy took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and wrote: “Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський

@ZelenskyyUa

·Follow

I would like to reiterate Ukraine’s commitment to peace. None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under…

7:37 AM · Mar 4, 2025

1.4K

Reply

Copy link

Read 167 replies

“My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.”

Trump, who has also received a letter from Zelenskyy making remarks in a similar vein to that of his social media post, has said he ‘appreciated’ the Ukrainian Prime Minister reaching out to him.

He also claimed there had been ‘serious discussions’ with Russia and that he’d received ‘strong signals that they are ready for peace’.

It was not revealed when these alleged talks had taken place, nor whether Trump himself had been involved in them.

Democrat politician Al Green has explained why he interrupted Trump’s Congress speech yesterday, which led to him being thrown out of the chamber.

After months of campaigning, the 78-year-old Republican was crowned victor in the November 2024 Presidential Election, defeating the Democratic ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

On January 20, Trump was sworn in for his second term as leader of the United States, and immediately signed executive orders to rename the Gulf of Mexico, pause US foreign aid for 90 days, and dozens more affecting immigration and climate change.

He also repealed a handful of former president Joe Biden’s actions, and has recently endorsed a House Republican floating a menu of options, including cutting ‘a few trillion dollars’ from Medicaid, writes CNN.

Donald Trump referred to his Presidential victory as a ‘mandate’ (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

Medicaid is a state-federal partnership that is jointly funded by the US and the federal government to assist states in providing insurance to people with a low income.

The government program serves more than 83 million low-income people in the country who meet certain criteria.

Despite the outlined budget cuts, Trump has previously announced Republicans ‘wouldn’t touch’ Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security, and would instead be ‘looking for fraud’.

On Tuesday (March 4), Trump called his November 5 Presidential Election victory a ‘mandate like has not been seen in many decades’ during a joint address to Congress.

In response, Democrat congressman Al Green stood up, pointed his cane at the dais, and interrupted Trump’s speech.

“Mr President, you don’t have a mandate!” said Green, who has served in Congress since 2005.

He clarified to reporters afterwards that he believes Trump ‘has no mandate to cut Medicaid’ and was preparing articles to impeach him, the BBC reports.

The 77-year-old, who was previously the justice of the peace of Harris County, Texas, from 1977 to 2004, was immediately drowned out from Republicans chanting ‘U-S-A’ before being escorted from the room by The Sergeant at Arms.

You can watch the moment here:

The move came after House Speaker Mike Johnson, 53, issued an order to decorum, reports NBC Chicago.

“Mr. Green, take your seat,” he instructed. “Take your seat, sir, take your seat.”

After the Texan continued his protesting, Johnson ruled: “Members continue to engage in willful and concerted disruption of proper decorum. The Chair now directs the sergeant at arms to restore order.”

Speaking about the moment to the press, Green said: “I was making it clear to the President that he has no mandate to cut Medicaid.”

“This is the richest country in the world, and we have people who don’t have good health care. We’ve got to do better and now we’re about to cut Medicaid, which is for [the] poor,” he said, as per BBC.

C-SPAN reports that Green continued to rally for Medicaid, saying: “I have people who are very fearful. These are poor people.

“And they have only Medicaid in their lives when it comes to their health care.

“I want [Trump] to know that his budget calls for deep cuts in Medicaid. He needs to save Medicaid and protect it. We need to raise the cap on social security.”

Following Green’s exit, Trump used the joint address to reference ongoing talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 47, whom he held a disastrous meeting with last week (February 28).

Al Green used the moment to air his frustrations about potential Medicaid cuts (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The pair, who met in the Oval Office to discuss the Ukraine-Russia war and to take part in a joint press conference, were embroiled in a heated debate, resulting in Trump claiming he was ‘gambling with World War III’.

The press conference was cancelled, with Zelenskyy reportedly being taken to another room and asked to leave the White House.

During the meeting with Congress in Washington, the 47th president of the United States read aloud a letter he’d received from the politician.

“Earlier today I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine,” he began.

“Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible. To bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians, he said.”

The former businessman went on to say that Zelenskyy ‘valued’ working with the US and that there had been ‘serious discussions’ with Russia regarding peace talks.

However, it wasn’t stipulated whether these conversations were recent, nor whether Trump himself was involved in the discussions.

A body language expert has revealed what Volodymyr Zelenskyy was communicating with his hand movements during his heated exchange with Donald Trump.

Inbaal Honigman has poured over the footage of the contentious discussion between the world leaders on Friday (28 January), to weigh up what they were really saying through their mannerisms.

We already know that Trump, 78, warned his Ukrainian counterpart he was ‘gambling with World War III‘ and that Zelenskyy’s clothing was a huge topic of conversation in the Oval Office.

But most of us won’t have clocked on to what the 47-year-old leader was trying to convey through his gestures.

Which is where Honigman comes in, as she’s well versed in the language of the body.

Speaking to LADbible on behalf of Oddspedia, the body language boffin explained that she picked up on Zelenskyy making an interesting hand movement as tempers flared.

As he went up against both Trump and Vice President JD Vance – and struggled to get a word in edgeways – Honigman spotted him using a ‘finger purse’ gesture, among other noteworthy movements.

And according to the expert, Zelenskyy was really trying to remain tactful throughout the tense meeting.

Honigman reckons that the Ukrainian President was trying to communicate with his hand movements (The White House)

“He’s speaking sternly, but his body language is imploring,” Honigman said. “Zelenskyy’s right hand is formed into a ‘thumb fist’, which is a typical diplomatic leader hand gesture.

“Where a fist would be too militant, a fist with a thumb on top of it is viewed as a softer gesture, asking for help rather than telling the USA to help him.

“At the same time, his left hand goes across his body, in a protective gesture, so he’s not feeling very brave while he’s arguing.”

As Zelenskyy verbally sparred against Vance, Honigman said that he opted to use his hands to ‘punctuate his words with his palm turned upwards’, which she explained ‘indicates honesty and openness’.

She continued: “He forms his hand into a ‘finger purse’ which is a gesture of explaining. He wants to make himself understood.”

For those who aren’t aware, this is a hand gesture which involves bringing all your fingers together along with your thumb – or in layman’s terms, it looks like the ‘pinched fingers’ emoji.

The body language expert said that Trump and Vance took a much more ‘domineering’ approach than Zelenskyy (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Honigman pointed out that Vance took a much fiercer approach with his hand movements in comparison, as the Vice President, 40, ‘pointed directly at’ Zelenskyy.

“This is quite a domineering gesture, like a parent chastising an errant child,” the body language expert said. “World leaders rarely resort to such aggressive gestures, even in disagreements.

“Following that, Zelenskyy folds his arms and looks away. Both of these are blocking gestures – he is done.”

A scheduled news conference between the quarrelling leaders was cancelled in wake of the chaos which unfolded in the Oval Office.

Both Zelenskyy and Trump issued statements on the incident, while UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also broke his silence on the controversy earlier today (2 March).

Honigman also told LADbible about her theories on what Trump really felt about the disastrous meeting in the White House.