President Donald Trump is sitting down on Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at what looks like the peak of their relationship — though it may not last.
Trump recently announced plans to give Ukraine a license to produce its own Patriot missiles, a potentially critical boost for the country in its four-year war with Russia. Just as importantly, Trump also praised Zelenskyy after their meeting at the NATO summit. And Ukraine is increasingly striking back at Russia.
It’s a sharp turnabout from the tense Oval Office spat earlier in Trump’s second term, which ended with Zelenskyy’s early departure. The Trump-Zelenskyy thaw is happening amid a broader shift in the Republican Party toward Ukraine, underscored by right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer’s high-profile conversion from Russia sympathizer to Ukraine defender.
“I don’t want to overstate this, but for the first time since 2022, [Vladimir] Putin is on his back foot,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., of the Russian leader. Kennedy added that Trump “sees what we all see, and that now it’s time to put some pressure on Putin — and the Ukrainians have Putin down.”
Yet it’s not clear whether Trump’s warmer posture towards Zelenskyy is a concrete realignment or a strategic effort to force Putin to the negotiating table. Some close to the US president say the latter is closer to reality, and that Trump’s welcoming of the Ukrainian leader today is designed to wind down a brutal war that he promised to end — while another war, in Iran, shows little signs of abating.
Even the Russia sanctions bill contains evidence for both arguments: Trump is growing impatient with Putin, but has stopped short of full public support for the measure. At the same time, his White House’s positive signals about the legislation point to a hardening stance toward Putin.
Inside the administration, “any lingering sentiment about trusting Putin has long since gone,” one person close to Trump told Semafor. “What we’re waiting for here is a more consistent Putin. And the way to get that is for Putin to understand that he’s not the only girl at the party.”
For some GOP senators, the relationship feels genuinely different. Asked if Trump is more sympathetic to Zelenskyy and less so to Putin, Kennedy replied: “Yes is the answer.”
Loomer’s about-face on Ukraine, the product of concerted advocacy by conservative allies of Kyiv, is sparking attention and serving as a challenge to the continued pro-Russia bent of right-wing pundits like Tucker Carlson. The Trump ally posted a series of apologies about her past comments after visiting Ukraine; Loomer said at one point that she had been “bamboozled by Russian propaganda.”
But people close to Trump are skeptical that Loomer — no matter how close she is to the US president’s ear — is playing much of a role in his thinking about Ukraine and Russia.
Ultimately, Trump aides said, the president is focused on steering Putin and Zelenskyy toward a deal.
“The president has a humanitarian heart and wants this war settled so the senseless killing ends,” said a White House official, describing Trump as playing “a constructive role in speaking to both sides.”