Trump: Zelensky 'not a good guy for us to deal with'

President Trump hit back at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he was "not a good guy for us to deal with." In an interview on NewsMax's "Finnerty," Trump was asked about Ukraine resuming attacks against Russian energy targets after the president asked Zelensky to stop these strikes. "Zelensky is not a good guy for us to deal with," the president said. "I'm not a big fan of Zelensky. They've destroyed that country." When asked if he supported further military aid for Ukraine, Trump stated, "Well, I think they're going to if they're going to end up with a settlement of some kind, they're not going to do it with [Zelesnky]." "He doesn't want to settle. He says he wants to settle, but he doesn't," he continued, adding that the war started when he said former President Obama made Ukraine "give up" Crimea which Trump called "the most valuable part by far of Ukraine." Trump concluded that he believed the war would "end soon. I think they actually both would like to see it end, but I think I find Zelensky to be more difficult to deal with than Putin." Trump's remarks another escalation between U. S.-Ukraine leadership as Zelensky announced earlier this week that the president's energy ceasefire was over. At a summit in Belgium, Zelsensky reportedly said he was thankful to have support from the European Union Council, Commission and leaders which he referred to as "real leaders," according to CNN, continuing that he wanted the war to end but Ukrainian leadership "don't see now signals from the Russian side that they are ready for this." Zelensky previously blasted Trump over the Russia oil deal which the Ukrainian president referred to as "a gift" to Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that Russia "will 'repay' the diesel with further terror and perfidy." Trump is facing backlash stateside as a group of GOP senators signed onto a letter condemning Trump's Russian diesel deal and asserting it "runs directly counter to that law." Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.