Trump's pre-planned 'ambush' on Zelensky makes the U.S. look 'weak': senator

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) recalled President Donald Trump's bone spurs after a stunning Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that turned hostile.

Trump yelled at Zelensky after he warned the United States will eventually feel the pain of Russia's invasion of Ukraine if they don't stop Russia's aggression. Trump lashed out, saying Zelensky can't tell him what the U.S. will feel.

"What a complete and utter mess. And this is a gift to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," said Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy Captain and astronaut. "And make no mistake, and I hope the American people get this, that this makes us look weak and it's not normal behavior."

He called it "not professional" and said the U.S. gains nothing "by acting like bullies."

"And this is what bullies do," said Kelly.

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He chastised Trump saying that behaving this way "doesn't mean that you're tough."

"President Trump wants to look tough," Kelly continued. "I mean, this is a guy remember — this is a guy that avoided military service. You know, said he had bone spurs. I think he has spent his entire life trying to look tough. But in him trying to look tough, he is making us less safe, and he's making our entire country look weak. And who is the winner? It is Vladimir Putin."

He also questioned why he didn't see Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the room. Democrats voted for Rubio's confirmation because they perceived him as responsible, Kelly said.

Ned Price, the former State Department spokesman under Joe Biden's administration, wondered if the White House pre-planned the ordeal.

"What we saw today was an ambush, and I think a premeditated ambush, both on President Zelensky but on those very values," Price said speaking about American democracy and freedom. "You know, President Trump posted after the meeting that meetings like this can be clarifying, can be revealing. And I think he's actually right about that."

He said that over and over Trump returns to the idea that he and Putin went through the Russia hoax together, referring to the investigation into Russian cyber attacks on the 2016 election.

"It's becoming clear, Chris, that President Trump is not thinking in terms of America standing on the side of democracy, of liberty, of freedom, leading the free world. He is thinking in terms of his own agenda of political retribution in his eyes," Price continued. "President Putin is a fellow victim. He suffered together with President Trump. President Zelensky, in this warped worldview, is not the victim of Russian aggression. President Zelensky is the perpetrator of what he calls the Russia hoax that led to his first impeachment."

Viewing Trump's behavior through that lens, he said, helps to understand what happened in that meeting.

See the comments from both men below or at the link here.