United States Democratic Representative Seth Moulton (D-MA) delivered sharp criticism of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance after their tense Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In an interview with CNN, Moulton did not hold back, referring to Trump as a “coward” and a “puppet” of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He labeled the meeting an “embarrassment” for the country.
“The President of the United States is a coward who is Vladimir Putin’s puppet,” Moulton told CNN’s Boris Sanchez. “And the vice president is a coward who is Donald Trump’s puppet. What we saw in that meeting was two cowardly puppets facing a hero. Whether you support them or not, as an American, it’s embarrassing that the only real hero in that room was the Ukrainian president.”
Rejecting the notion that Zelenskyy should have been more measured in his approach compared to European leaders like Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer, Moulton questioned the basis for such deference. “Deferential to what?” he asked. “To a president who let a deal collapse in his first term because Putin ignored it? To a vice president who didn’t even visit Ukraine? I hardly know anyone in Congress who cares about national security and hasn’t been to Ukraine during this war.”
He further argued that Zelenskyy was under no obligation to show deference to Trump or Vance. “Zelenskyy doesn’t owe anyone in that Oval Office any deference. In fact, I wish he had put them in their place even more forcefully.”
Moulton’s comments add to the mounting criticism of Trump’s handling of the US-Ukraine relationship, especially after Trump suggested that Zelenskyy was ungrateful and pushed for a diplomatic resolution with Russia.