Everything seems to indicate that Trump set a kind of "trap" for Zelensky at the White House. What started as a calm and friendly meeting quickly spiraled out of control after provocative remarks from VP JD Vance, with Trump stepping in and accusing Zelensky of not respecting the U.S., leading to a heated exchange between the two.
In this clip, we see Trump saying—almost as if he doesn’t understand why:
"You see the hatred he (Zelensky) has for Putin. It’s very hard for me to make a deal with this kind of hatred (pointing at Zelensky). He has tremendous hatred."
As Trump speaks, Zelensky’s visible discomfort says it all.