‘Three Strikes’: Trump Cabinet Reveals Key Details That Led To Contentious Meeting With Zelensky
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky repeatedly backed off on the prospect of signing a minerals and economic agreement after stating he would do so on numerous occasions. This, according to Bessent and additional reports from the administration, led President Trump to adopt a “three strikes and you’re out” approach to dealing with the Ukrainian leader.
According to several lawmakers, including fierce Ukraine backer Lindsey Graham (R-SC), congressional leaders had hoped that Zelensky would sign the minerals deal on Friday. President Trump has demanded backpay for the hundreds-of-billions of dollars sent to Ukraine in the form of military and humanitarian aid, noting that European countries have made agreements that would see their investments repaid.
Trump has stated that a minerals deal — which would see roughly 50 percent of profits from the sector going to the U.S. until the loans are repaid — is an essential first step to a security agreement. The president has stated that he is open to the prospect of security guarantees and peacekeepers for Ukraine, though the minerals deal must be secured first.
A few hours after the contentious meeting concluded, Bessent shared details on the days and weeks leading up to the pivotal moment while speaking with Fox News.
“President Trump sent me there to, again, we were supposed to bring the Ukrainian people closer to the U.S. people, send a strong signal to Russian leadership that we had not only shared values, but now shared economic interests, and also have a strong signal for the American people that their tax dollars were actually going to work,” Bessent told host Laura Ingraham.
“Instead, President Zelensky and I had a very tough 45-minute meeting at a very loud decibel level. And I kept telling him, ‘Mr. President, the purpose of this is to show the Russians there is no daylight between us.’ And at the end of the meeting, he said, well, ‘I’m not signing this.’”
Stunned by Zelensky’s belligerence, Bessent asked how he would like to inform the press, as a minerals deal was widely expected to be signed at the meeting. Zelensky informed him that he would still sign it, but he would prefer to do so at last month’s Munich Security Conference. When the conference came around, Zelensky once again refused to sign the agreement.
“Then he got to Munich and he ran into Vice President resident Vance and Secretary Rubio. You know, very different than Vice President Harris and Secretary Blinken, but he didn’t sign the agreement,” the treasury secretary explained.
Then, leading into Friday’s meeting, Zelensky was once again expected to sign the agreement after telling the Trump Administration that he would do so earlier in the week. “So finally we were supposed to have the signing today. It was supposed to be a great day,” Bessent told Fox News, describing Zelensky’s refusal to cooperate as one of the biggest “own goals in diplomatic history.”
According to a report from Axios, the Trump Administration is employing a baseball analogy to describe Zelensky’s behavior, as he has already racked up “three strikes” as far as the administration is concerned. Three strikes in baseball equates to an out.
When asked whether he would welcome Zelensky back to the White House for another meeting after Friday’s chaos, the president balked at the idea. “Well he says he wants it now, he wants it right now but I can’t do that,” the president told reporters.