Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., on Sunday blasted the Biden administration for not defining “what victory means in Ukraine” and said that a future Trump administration would end the war “with a negotiated settlement.”
“We hope that when that time comes, there is more leverage on the Ukrainian side than on the Russian side. That really is the goal here, in my mind. And I think that’s what [former President] Donald Trump is trying to say,” Rubio said in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
His remarks come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the U.S. last week for meetings with Trump, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Following her meeting with Zelenskyy on Thursday, Harris said there are “some in my country who would instead force Ukraine to give up large parts of its sovereign territory, who would demand that Ukraine accept neutrality and would require Ukraine to forgo security relationships with other nations.”
“These proposals are the same of those of [President Vladimir] Putin, and let us be clear, they are not proposals for peace,” she added. “Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable.”
On Friday, in a joint interview with Zelenskyy following his meeting with the Ukrainian president, Trump told Fox News that “if I win, we’re going to have a very fair, and I think actually rather rapid deal. [The war] should stop, and the president [of Ukraine] wants it to stop, and I’m sure President Putin wants it to stop, and that’s a good combination. So we want to have a fair deal for everybody.”
Asked if Trump’s position has changed on the war, the former president said he had learned a lot but that his standpoint is the same: “We both want to see this end, we both want to see a fair deal made.”
Asked what fair meant, Trump said it was “too early to say that,” but that he has his own ideas. Zelenskyy later in the interview noted that the U.S. has the ability to lead negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
Trump said it was possible that he and Zelenskyy would meet again and reiterated that this war is a “complicated puzzle” and should never have happened.
Meanwhile, Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, who has been a staunch opponent of aide for Ukraine, sparred with Zelenskyy last week.
On Saturday, Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of engaging in partisan politics with Democrats.
“I wanted to come in the same week that President Zelenskyy from Ukraine came to Pennsylvania,” Vance told attendees at a campaign event in the state. “And I don’t know if you all noticed, but he came to campaign with the Democratic leadership of this country.”
Vance added: “You know what I wish Zelenskyy would do when he comes to the United States of America? Say thank you to the people of Pennsylvania and everybody else.”
These remarks echoed a similar comment Vance made on Wednesday in Michigan prior to Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy in which Vance said he did not appreciate the wartime leader “coming to this country and telling the American taxpayers what they ought to do.”
He was referring to Zelenskyy’s visit last week to a munitions factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania. After the visit, the Ukrainian president posted photos of his tour on X, writing: “It is in places like this where you can truly feel that the democratic world can prevail. Thanks to people like these — in Ukraine, in America, and in all partner countries — who work tirelessly to ensure that life is protected.”
Jake Traylor contributed.
