Trump was asked if he still considered Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator.”
“Did I say that? I can’t believe I could say that,” Trump responded.
During a conversation with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump acknowledged that his relationship with Zelenskyy could have become tense but expressed a willingness to cooperate with the Ukrainian leader.
On Feb. 18, Trump made several statements during a press conference, including comments on Zelenskyy. The former president called for elections in Ukraine and claimed Zelenskyy’s approval rating among Ukrainians was only 4%.
However, according to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), 57% of Ukrainians trust Zelenskyy, while 37% do not, resulting in a 20% net trust margin, as reported on Feb. 19.
On Feb. 19, Zelenskyy dismissed Trump’s claim about his approval rating as disinformation.
Later, Trump said Zelenskyy allegedly "refuses to organize elections" due to his "low rating," calling him a "dictator without elections."
“A dictator without elections, Zelenskyy better move faster. He’ll soon have no country left. We need to act quickly because this war is going in the wrong direction,” Trump added, claiming Ukraine had lost 700,000 soldiers and Russia 900,000.
On Feb. 24, Trump declined to answer when asked if he would call Vladimir Putin a dictator.