Months after war broke out between Russia and Ukraine, then-President Joe Biden had a fiery private phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which included Biden allegedly losing \u2018his temper\u2019 and calling on Ukraine to \u2018show a little more gratitude\u2019 towards the U.S. for its support, a resurfaced 2022 NBC News report shows.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Biden had barely finished telling Zelenskyy that he had just greenlighted another $1 billion in U.S. military assistance for Ukraine when Zelenskyy started listing all the additional help he needed and wasn\u2019t getting,\u2019 according to an NBC report published in November 2022, recounting a prior June 2022 call that Biden and Zelenskyy shared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Biden lost his temper, the people familiar with the call said. The American people were being quite generous, and his administration and the U.S. military were working hard to help Ukraine, he said, raising his voice, and Zelenskyy could show a little more gratitude,\u2019 the report continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The reported tense exchange on the phone came just months after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The pair\u2019s relationship \u2018only improved\u2019 following the phone call, Biden administration officials told NBC at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fox News Digital reached out to Biden\u2019s office on Sunday morning for additional comment on the 2022 phone call but did not immediately receive a reply.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The report resurfaced over the weekend, following President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance\u2019s fiery meeting with Zelenskyy, which included the VP pressing the Ukraine leader on his gratitude for the U.S.\u2019s assistance across the years, and Trump asking Zelenskyy to leave the White House \u2013 stipulating that he can return \u2018when he is ready for Peace.\u2019<\/p>\n
The White House meeting grew tense in approximately its final 10 minutes, after Vance said that peace would be reached between Russia and Ukraine through U.S. diplomacy efforts.<\/p>\n
\u2018Mr. President, with respect, I think it\u2019s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media,\u2019 Vance told Zelenskyy. \u2018Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines, because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for bringing it, to bring it into this country.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Have you\u2019ve ever been to Ukraine that you say what problems we have?\u2019 Zelenskyy shot back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019ve actually watched and seen the stories and I know that what happens is you bring people, you bring them on a propaganda tour,\u2019 Vance continued. \u2018Mr. President, do you disagree that you\u2019ve had problems bringing people into your military? And do you think that it\u2019s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to, trying to prevent the destruction of your country?\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy continued that under war, \u2018everybody has problems, even you,\u2019 and that the U.S. would feel the war \u2018in the future.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Don\u2019t tell us what we\u2019re going to feel,\u2019 Trump shot back at Zelenskyy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018You\u2019re gambling with the lives of millions of people,\u2019 Trump added at another point during the exchange. \u2018You\u2019re gambling with World War III. You\u2019re gambling with World War III. And what you\u2019re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country.\u2019<\/p>\n
Vance interjected, asking Zelenskyy whether he had \u2018said thank you once this entire meeting.\u2019 He also added that Zelenskyy \u2018went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October\u2019 and that he should \u2018offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who\u2019s trying to save your country.\u2019<\/p>\n
Congress has appropriated $175 billion since 2022 for aid to Ukraine, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, though exact monetary figures on how much the U.S. has provided to Ukraine vary based on what is considered aid.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Total European assistance to Ukraine between January 2022 and December 2024 totals roughly $138.7 billion, according to German think tank the Kiel Institute. The U.S. contributed $119.7 billion during that same timeframe, Fox Digital previously reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trump continued in his remarks to Zelenskyy that \u2018the problem is, I\u2019ve empowered you to be a tough guy, and I don\u2019t think you\u2019d be a tough guy without the United States.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018And your people are very brave. But you\u2019re either going to make a deal or we\u2019re out. And if we\u2019re out, you\u2019ll fight it out. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be pretty, but you\u2019ll fight it out. But you don\u2019t have the cards. But once we sign that deal, you\u2019re in a much better position. But you\u2019re not acting at all thankful. And that\u2019s not a nice thing. I\u2019ll be honest. That\u2019s not a nice thing,\u2019 Trump said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy left the White House shortly after. The Trump administration canceled a planned press conference with Zelenskyy later that day, while a planned speaking event featuring the Ukraine leader at a Washington, D.C.-based think tank was canceled. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy did join Fox News\u2019 Bret Baier for an exclusive interview on Friday evening, where he was pressed on whether he would apologize to Trump. U.S. leaders, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, called on Zelenskyy to apologize for the Oval Office meeting, but the Ukraine president bucked the calls during the Baier interview, while adding that he respects Trump and the U.S.<\/p>\n