Trump says Zelensky is “not a good guy for us to deal with” and does not want to settle the war

President Donald Trump sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday, saying he was difficult for the United States to deal with and did not genuinely want to reach a settlement with Russia.

“Zelensky is not a good guy for us to deal with,” Trump said in an interview with Newsmax. “They’re not going to settle with Zelensky. He doesn’t want to settle. He says he wants to settle, but he doesn’t.”

Trump added that he was “not a big fan” of Zelensky and said Ukraine lacked the manpower to sustain a prolonged war against Russia, which he described as capable of absorbing far greater battlefield losses.

Trump also referred to an interview with a Ukrainian woman who blamed Zelensky for the destruction of the country and the loss and severe injury of Ukrainian men. Trump presented her remarks as an example of domestic anger toward Kyiv’s leadership.

On Iran, Trump said he would not use nuclear weapons, arguing they were unnecessary. He distinguished them from the conventional GBU-43/B MOAB, commonly called the “Mother of All Bombs,” which he has said could be considered in future operations against Iranian targets.

Asked whether he trusted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump replied, “I don’t trust anybody, honestly,” adding that he meant politics generally rather than Netanyahu specifically.