‘The president of Ukraine will not be chosen in Lindsey Graham’s house’: Zelensky responds to U.S. senator’s call for him to resign after Trump meeting
U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime advocate for continued aid from Washington to Ukraine, called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s February 28 meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House “an utter disaster” and urged Zelensky to resign.
Speaking to Fox News immediately after the talks, Graham said he was “proud” of Trump and questioned whether Americans would be able to “do business” with Zelensky again. “He either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change,” Graham said.
The call was echoed by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who told NBC News on Sunday that Zelensky “needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country [Ukraine] to do that.”
Trump’s national security adviser Mark Waltz told CNN that the U.S. needs a Ukrainian leader “who can deal with us, ultimately deal with the Russians, and end this war.”
Commenting on calls for his resignation, Zelensky responded: “I can give [Lindsay Graham] citizenship of Ukraine and he will become a citizen of our country. And then his voice will start to gain weight. […] The president of Ukraine will not be chosen in Lindsey Graham’s house but in Ukraine.”
“To change me, it will not be easy because it is not enough to simply hold elections. You would need to prevent me from participating. And it will be a bit more difficult,” Zelensky added. He also reiterated his recent statement that he is ready to step down as president if Ukraine is admitted to NATO.
