U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is doubling down on recent comments made by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham calling for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to step down as his country's leader.
Speaking Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press,"Johnson said "something has to change" following Zelenskyy's fiery meeting at the White House Friday with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance about ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.
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"Either [Zelenskyy] needs to come to his senses and come back to the table, in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that," Johnson said. "I mean, it's up to the Ukrainians to figure that out. But I can tell you that we are, we are re-exerting peace through strength."
"We need President Zelenskyy to do what is necessary," he added. "This war has drug on far too long, he's lost hundreds of thousand of people — including women and children — we gotta bring an end to it."
Johnson's comments come just days after Sen. Graham, who has previously expressed support for Zelenskyy, said the Ukrainian president either needs to "resign" or "change" if he wants continued U.S. support in the war with Russia.
"What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful," Graham said. "And I don't know if we can ever do business with Zelenskyy again."
The clash in the White House started when Zelenskyy tried to explain that Russia had been showing signs of aggression toward Ukraine for more than a decade. Vance then accused Zelenskyy of being ungrateful for U.S. support.
"I think it's disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media," he told Zelenskyy.
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President Trump then chimed in, at times shouting, about how important U.S. support has been to Ukraine.
"You're not acting at all thankful, and that's not a nice thing," President Trump told Zelenskyy, before ultimately asking him to leave the White House.
Zelesnkyy left without signing a minerals deal that President Trump said was a condition for future support for Ukraine. Following the debacle, President Trump said Zelenskyy "overplayed his hand."
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"I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE," President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
Zelenskyy later reiterated his position that Ukraine would not accept any peace agreement without reliable security guarantees in place.
"We are ready for peace but we have to be in strong position," he said in a Fox News interview. "What does it mean? Just to know that our army is strong. That our partners with us. And that we have security guarantees."
