Trump Says It May Be Time for Someone Other Than Zelenskyy to Negotiate for Ukraine

President Donald Trump has said it may be time for someone other than Volodymyr Zelenskyy to negotiate on Ukraine's behalf, in his sharpest public criticism yet of the Ukrainian leader. Speaking to reporters before leaving the White House to campaign in Kansas ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, Trump argued that Zelenskyy should have settled the war long ago and claimed a better deal was available had Kyiv listened to Washington earlier.

"Zelenskyy doesn't know what he's talking about," Trump said, adding that Ukraine is losing its male population and that "maybe it's time for Zelenskyy to get somebody else to negotiate." The comments are likely to deepen anxiety in Kyiv and across European capitals, where officials have spent months trying to keep the United States engaged in efforts to end Russia's war.

The remarks also arrive at a politically delicate moment at home. A new survey reported this week puts Trump's approval rating at a record low of 31 percent, with voters expressing growing dissatisfaction over his handling of the economy. With control of Congress on the line, the president has been crisscrossing battleground states — and foreign policy is now firmly part of his closing argument.

There was no immediate official response from Zelenskyy's office. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly insisted that any settlement must protect the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that decisions about Ukraine's future cannot be made over Kyiv's head. Whether Trump's words signal a genuine policy shift or campaign-season pressure, they have guaranteed one thing: the war's endgame is once again the world's top story.