Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy deliberately emphasized gratitude during his Oval Office meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, thanking him nine times in the first minute before a short news conference. The show of thanks aimed to rebound from a February incident when Vice President JD Vance publicly berated Zelenskyy for not appearing sufficiently thankful. Zelenskyy had previously expressed appreciation for U.S. military and financial support after Russia's 2022 invasion. World leaders adopted flattery as a strategy to win over Trump, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Zelenskyy sought advice after seeing Merz's smoother Oval Office debut.
With peace talks on the table and a chance to rebound from his disastrous White House scolding six months ago, Zelenskyy made sure to show his gratitude to U.S. President Donald Trump during Monday's meeting in the Oval Office. In fact, he said thanks nine times to Trump and others in the first minute of their brief public meeting that preceded a short news conference.
In February, Zelenskyy's meeting with Trump quickly spiraled into a public relations disaster when Vice President JD Vance berated him for not being sufficiently thankful. "You should be thanking the President for trying to bring an end to this conflict," Vance said in a moment that caught Zelenskyy off guard. "Have you said thank you once? In this entire meeting? No, in this entire meeting, have you said thank you?"
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