LA JOLLA, Calif. (KGTV) — The heated exchange at Friday's Oval Office meeting between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sparked strong reactions in San Diego's Ukrainian Community.
The meeting just happened to coincide with the same day a rally was already planned by local Ukrainian organizations.
The rally was held Friday evening on the Nobel Dr. overpass in La Jolla. Organizers said the rally's purpose was to remind everyone that Ukraine is not the enemy and didn't start the war.
Mira Rubin, President of the nonprofit Shield of Freedom, was one rally organizer.
Shield of Freedom supports Ukrainian soldiers on the frontlines of the war with non-lethal aid, such as technology to detect drones, night vision goggles, ambulance trucks, and more.
Rubin told ABC 10News that watching Friday's Oval Office meeting was upsetting.
"It brought tears to my eyes," Rubin said. "I was crying watching this. I've never seen diplomacy gone so bad, so public. I didn't see it coming."
Rubin said she cried because she and her team were actually excited about Friday morning's meeting and fully supported President Zelenskyy going in to sign the mineral deal with President Trump.
However, Rubin felt like one person was responsible for changing the tone of the conversation.
"Everything was going so well, and then halfway through this press conference, JD Vance flips everything upside down, turns everything against Zelenskyy, and starts belittling him," Rubin said.
Rubin said the last week has been very difficult for her because she's felt the partnership between the U.S. and Ukraine has suddenly started feeling tumultuous.
"I was born in Ukraine and raised in Ukraine, but I've lived in the U.S. longer, and I am an American," Rubin said, "I was always proud of being American because I knew that this country would not let Ukraine down. We thought President Trump would bring peace to Ukraine, peace through strength."
However, now, Rubin said she's fearful that President Trump and Vice President Vance's talks of diplomacy mean they intend to prioritize Russia over Ukraine with a ceasefire deal.
"Ukraine has had 25 ceasefires with Russia since 2014," Rubin said. "It's not the answer."
In a social media post on Friday,President Trump said that while he felt the meeting was "meaningful," afterward, he determined that President Zelenskyy was "not ready for peace." President Trump went on to suggest that President Zelenskyy acted disrespectfully in the meeting.
ABC 10News asked Branislav Slantchev, a professor of political science at UC San Diego who has published reports and talks about the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, to weigh in on the heated exchange Friday.
Slantchev provided insight on what he believed the Trump Administration was trying to accomplish in Friday's meeting, even ending it with no mineral deal signed.
"It's a meeting that went off the rails," Slantchev said. "There was a problem with Zelenskyy not quite understanding the English that was being said or what the dynamic was in the room, then responding in front of cameras. That pushed Vance and the president into stronger language."
However, Slantchev said there's still a possibility the mineral deal is not dead.
Slantchev explained that the U.S.'s strategy was complex going into the Oval Office Friday, and may have had something to do with the administration's refocus on China.
Slantchev said he believes the Trump administration, as well as others not a part of the administration, are trying to use a "Reverse Nixon" policy, meaning detaching Russia from China.
"We need to peel off the Russians from the Chinese because together, they're too threatening," Slantchev said. "We need to find a way to work with Russia. Now, the problem with working with Russia right now is that it's invaded Ukraine."
Slantchev also said he believes President Trump thinks it is possible to reach a ceasefire on terms that will be acceptable to the Russians and Ukrainians.
However, Slantchev said he personally believes it is 'fundamentally misguided' to think that is possible.
"This is just not possible because the Russians have extreme demands that the Ukrainians are not willing to meet," Slantchev said. "Ukrainians want peace the most. That's not even a question, but they're being asked to give up part of their country and millions of people to be left under Russian occupation, so you can just see that's not going to work."
Slantchev ended on the thought of how worried he is about alienating Europe by sacrificing Ukraine to get Russia to split from China.
"It's dangerous," Slantchev said. "Because it will make China offer open support for Russia instead, and Europe might seek to make deals with China too. If the 'reverse Nixon' fails, the U.S. might find itself confronting a Sino-Russian alliance alone."
