00:00Critics say Trump's approach to Ukraine has been inconsistent with sharp shifts in his tone towards Zelensky and also U
00:08.S. support for Kiev.
00:10Do you think that this has made it harder for the U.S. to be seen as a credible mediator
00:16in efforts to end the war?
00:18Because obviously it wasn't that long ago.
00:20People can remember when there was an explosive Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelensky, which really kind of shocked
00:29the world.
00:30Well, I think a two part answer, you know, to the first question, has the president or has the U
00:36.S. been inconsistent?
00:37Yes, that's absolutely true. But I think in terms of mediating, you know, the fear was if we were leaning
00:43too much on the side of Ukraine, that would make it more difficult to negotiate with Putin.
00:49I think that's pretty much failed. I think we've learned the hard way that Putin really can't be dealt with,
00:55just like the regime in Iran.
00:57So, yeah, the president has come a long way since that first Oval Office meeting.
01:02Obviously, mistakes were made there, especially by Zelensky when, you know, the first 45 minutes of that meeting went swimmingly.
01:09And then there's only the last seven or eight minutes where it got uncomfortable.
01:14I guess that's another understatement. But look, you know, the president has really developed a relationship.
01:21He likes the fact that Zelensky and the Ukrainians have defended themselves so well.
01:26The drone technology is incredible. In 2022, they made 5,000 drones in Ukraine.
01:33Now they're making at least a million a year. And so, you know, I think this is a good relationship.
01:38I think it took a very good turn at the at the funeral of Pope Francis in early 2025.
01:45And then, of course, they had a great meeting in Ankara last month at the NATO meeting.
01:51So things are going well there. And I think that's probably very reassuring for Zelensky and the Ukrainians.
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