Overview
- In a Politico interview, President Trump said European leaders are weak, claimed Europe "doesn't know what to do," and criticized EU efforts on Ukraine and migration.
- He argued Russia now has the stronger negotiating position in the war and urged Volodymyr Zelensky to accept setbacks, likening the Ukrainian leader to showman P. T. Barnum.
- Trump repeated the contested claim that there was an earlier understanding that Ukraine would not join NATO.
- Kremlin adviser Kirill Dmitriev endorsed Trump's comments on X, calling them the truth about European leaders.
- The European Commission offered a cool response through spokesperson Paula Pinho, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Europe and Germany must become much more independent from the United States.