Trump calls Ukraine envoy an ‘idiot’: Inside the growing rift over Zelensky and the war strategy |
The reported departure of Keith Kellogg, the United States’ special envoy for Ukraine, has exposed deeper fractures within Donald Trump’s administration over how to handle the war in Ukraine and Washington’s relationship with Vladimir Zelensky. According to the New York Times, Trump privately labeled Kellogg an “idiot” after the retired general publicly praised Zelensky, an episode that highlights not just personal animosity but a fundamental clash of worldviews inside the White House.
Kellogg, a former Army general with decades of experience in security and defense policy, has been widely described as one of the more Ukraine-sympathetic figures within Trump’s inner circle. Reuters reported as early as November that Kellogg intended to step down from his post sometime in January, a move viewed with alarm in Kiev, where officials saw him as a rare advocate within an administration increasingly skeptical of Ukraine’s leadership and the open-ended nature of US support.
At the center of the dispute is Trump’s long-standing frustration with Zelensky and his belief that the war should be resolved through rapid diplomacy rather than prolonged military engagement. Tensions reportedly surfaced publicly in February of last year, when Trump sharply criticized Zelensky, calling him “a dictator without elections.” The remark reflected Trump’s broader narrative that Ukraine’s leadership lacks democratic legitimacy, a claim rooted in Zelensky’s refusal to hold presidential elections under the country’s ongoing martial law.
While Trump’s comments were consistent........