WASHINGTON— Some of Maryland’s Democratic lawmakers say they are appalled by President Donald Trump’s comments blaming Ukraine for Russia’s invasion and calling Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator.
“He called President Zelensky a dictator when it’s Vladamir Putin that is the dictator and wants the assault on the Ukrainian people,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Wednesday on the Senate floor. “We should all be ashamed, ashamed, Mr. President.”
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks said in a statement to Capital News Service that “it’s an asinine comment that makes it clear this President is more interested in helping Putin than standing up for our allies.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin posted on X: “President Trump calls Zelensky a ‘dictator,’ which can’t be true because Trump loves all the dictators. That’s why he appeases & coddles Putin & his filthy imperialist war on the people of Ukraine. History teaches us that we bow down to dictators & tyrants at our own peril.”
The feud between Trump and Zelensky started on Tuesday, as senior officials from the United States and Russia met in Saudi Arabia to discuss ending the Ukraine war and re-establishing normal relations. It was the two countries’ most extensive talks since 2022 — when Russia invaded Ukraine — and notably excluded Ukraine and Zelensky.
Zelensky angrily responded to Tuesday’s meeting, saying he was postponing his planned visit to Saudi Arabia — which was scheduled for Wednesday — in protest. Trump said he was disappointed by Ukraine’s reaction, then blamed the country for starting the war and claiming it “could have made a deal.”
Tensions continued to rise Wednesday, when Zelensky said Trump lives in a “web of disinformation” influenced by Russia, which sparked an intense post on Trump’s Truth Social account calling Zelensky a “dictator without elections.”
“It is now obvious why Zelenskyy was not included in the discussions so critical to the future of Ukraine,” Rep. Steny Hoyer said in a statement Wednesday. “President Trump is clearly adopting Putin’s argument, which has been rejected by the free world and the United States of America in a bipartisan fashion. Every American and every Republican and Democrat who loves freedom and opposes dictators and war criminals should be speaking out forcefully in opposition to this Putin lie that, shockingly, Trump has parroted. His relationship with this despot is dangerous and despicable.”
Rep. April McClain Delaney agreed with Hoyer’s statement, saying in an X post Thursday that Trump’s comments are insulting to soldiers and civilians who have lost their lives in the war.
“We must continue to stand with NATO and democracies across the globe,” she said.
Trump also claimed the United States provided Ukraine with $350 billion worth of aid and that Zelensky admitted half of the money sent went missing. In fact, the United States has allocated $119 billion in aid, according to the Kiel Institute, a research organization in Germany, the New York Times reported.
“While I agree with the President that our NATO allies can and should invest more in the security of Europe, I was astonished and disappointed to see the President siding with an adversary and dictator, Vladimir Putin, while repeating Russian propaganda and falsely calling an American ally, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a dictator,” Rep. Sarah Elfreth said in a statement to CNS.
“The White House’s statements and actions this week only serve to undermine the independence of Ukraine and destabilize the 76-year alliance with our European friends,” she added.
Some Republicans also voiced their disagreement with Trump’s remarks.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, told CNN that “any sort of peace talks that might get a fair result would definitely need to have the Ukrainians at the table and make sure that European interests are considered and carefully weighed.”
The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Wicker added that Putin could not be trusted in any negotiations.
“Putin is a war criminal and should be in jail for the rest of his life – if not executed,” the senator said.
Returning from an official visit to Ukraine earlier this week, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, commended Zelensky for fighting against Russia, NPR reported.
“(Putin’s) a very bad person who needs to be stopped. He’s going to metastasize across Europe if we don’t (stop him),” Tillis said. The senator added that he would give the president the benefit of the doubt in negotiating peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, told reporters in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday that he believed the president and his administration are working to achieve a peaceful outcome for the war in Ukraine.
Rep. Andy Harris, the only Republican in the Maryland congressional delegation, declined to comment on Trump’s Ukraine statements.
Maryland Reps. Kweisi Mfume and Glenn Ivey did not provide comments for this story.
Maryland is home to a large Ukrainian community, particularly in the Baltimore area.
CNS Washington reporters Jade Tran and Jess Daninhirsch contributed to this story.