Topics: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine, Russia
Elon Musk has shared his thoughts on Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's meeting with Donald Trump at the White House after the POTUS accused his fellow leader of 'gambling with World War 3'.
The meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump on February 28 left viewers across the globe shocked for a multitude of reasons, with some fiercely defending Zelenskyy and his country following their discussion, while others sided with Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Both leaders fought for the chance to speak during the encounter, with Vance chiming in at one point to tell Zelenskyy he should be 'thanking' Trump for 'trying to bring an end' to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
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When Zelenskyy went to respond, Trump said: "You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War 3, and what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that's backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have."
The meeting was intended to pre-empt a minerals deal between the two countries, but ended with Zelenskyy leaving before the deal was signed.
In the wake of the contentious interaction, Musk has now expressed belief that Zelenskyy's appearance at the White House was damaging to his reputation.
Musk spoke out on Twitter after right-wing influencer Benny Johnson shared a post reporting on stats relating to Americans' 'trust in Zelensky' [sic], which he wrote 'fell from 72% to under 48%'.
Musk shared Johnson's post, and wrote: "Zelensky [sic] damaged himself severely in the eyes of the public. Just a fact."
The SpaceX founder then followed up with another post in which he referenced one of his own tweets from October 2022, where he had shared an apparent plan for achieving 'Ukraine-Russia Pace'.
He wrote: "- Redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is will of the people.
"- Crimea formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake).
"- Water supply to Crimea assured.
"- Ukraine remains neutral."
Quoting his tweet, Musk added on March 2: "What I said over 2 years ago was that Ukraine should seek peace or suffer severe loss of life for no gains. The latter was Zelensky’s choice.
"Now, he wants to do that again. This is cruel and inhumane."
Musk's post has received mixed responses from other Twitter users, with some still standing by Zelenskyy and his decisions amid the ongoing war.
After Zelenskyy left the White House, he shared a post in which he stated that Ukraine was 'truly thankful' for America's help to 'save [its] people'.
"We want only strong relations with America, and I really hope we will have them," he wrote.
