Murkowski Joins Democrats to Criticize Trump Admin for Contentious Meeting With Zelenskyy

The Alaskan Republican said Trump appeared to be ‘walking away from our allies and embracing Putin’ following his spat with Zelenskyy.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) speaks during a hearing to review the president’s fiscal year 2024 budget request for the National Guard and Reserve in Washington on June 1, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) criticized President Donald Trump and his administration for its handling of U.S.–Ukraine relations after a Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy devolved into a heated argument.

While other Republican lawmakers have stood by Trump and Vice President JD Vance following the White House spat, Murkowski took to the X social media platform on March 1 to direct criticism at the Trump administration.

“This week started with administration officials refusing to acknowledge that Russia started the war in Ukraine. It ends with a tense, shocking conversation in the Oval Office and whispers from the White House that they may try to end all U.S. support for Ukraine,” Murkowski wrote.

Zelenskyy’s White House visit was originally set to culminate in the signing of a deal under which the United States would gain access to Ukraine’s natural resources, but those plans were derailed as he, Trump, and Vance began to argue in full view of the gathered press.

Trump has presented the deal for Ukraine’s natural resources as an opportunity for the United States to recoup some of its costs from supporting Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia, but Zelenskyy has sought to tie the agreement to additional security guarantees and measures of support from Washington. As Trump, Vance, and Zelenskyy sat for an Oval Office press engagement ahead of the deal signing, Zelenskyy reiterated calls for U.S. security guarantees and expressed his unwillingness to make compromises to reach a broader peace agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At one point during the argument, Vance said that Zelenskyy was showing disrespect to his hosts and attempting to put his arguments on display for the gathered press.

Trump warned that Zelenskyy doesn’t have enough leverage to sustain a tougher negotiating stance toward Moscow. Moments before White House staff ushered reporters out of the room, Trump told the Ukrainian leader, “You’re either going to make a deal, or we’re out.”

“If we’re out, you‘ll fight it out,” Trump continued. “I don’t think it’s going to be very pretty, but you’ll fight it out.”

Murkowski expressed dismay at how the exchange might have appeared to international observers.

“I know foreign policy is not for the faint of heart, but right now, I am sick to my stomach as the administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin, a threat to democracy and U.S. values around the world,” the Alaskan senator wrote.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have similarly accused Trump and his administration of ingratiating themselves with Putin following the fractious White House meeting.

Responses From Other Republicans

Congressional Democrats have been broadly critical of Trump and Vance’s handling of their contentious exchange with Zelenskyy, while Republicans have mostly stood by the administration.

In a podcast appearance following the Friday White House exchange, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said he has wished to see the Russia–Ukraine war end in a “clear and unmistakable loss for Russia.” Still, Cruz said Zelenskyy’s handling of the meeting “not only harmed his own country, but I think it harmed world peace.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who has previously been supportive of Ukraine in its fight with Russia, has said he was proud of how Trump and Vance handled the meeting and said Zelenskyy’s behavior was disrespectful.

“I don’t know if we can ever do business with Zelenskyy again. I think most Americans saw a guy that they would not want to go in business with,” Graham told reporters as Zelenskyy’s White House visit came to a quarrelsome end.

Other Republicans have expressed support for Ukraine and shared their frustration at how the White House meeting devolved, without specifically blaming the Trump administration.

“A bad day for America’s foreign policy. Ukraine wants independence, free markets and rule of law. It wants to be part of the West. Russia hates us and our Western values. We should be clear that we stand for freedom,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) wrote in a Feb. 28 X post.

In another X post following the White House meeting, Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) said, “Diplomacy and statesmanship seem to have been checked at the door of the Oval Office today.”

“Ukraine is an ally in pursuit of free markets, free speech, and free people—Western values that align with our own. A win for Putin, on the other hand, does not. I am hopeful that our countries can get back to the table and advance the prospects of a just and lasting peace,” Curtis added.