FORMER BBC Scotland editor Sarah Smith has been criticised after she said Volodymyr Zelenskyy will need to “eat a pretty hefty portion of humble pie” after “enraging” Donald Trump.
Smith, who was appointed as BBC North America editor in 2021, said Zelenskyy “may have blown his one big chance” to get Trump “on his side” following a fiery exchange in the Oval Office on Friday.
The Ukrainian leader was reportedly kicked out of the White House following the exchange, which was broadcast on live television, where the US president claimed Zelenskyy had not been thankful enough for US military aid.
Smith’s coverage of the meeting between the two leaders has been called “shameful” and a “disgrace” as she claimed Zelenskyy has “made an enemy of the one man he really needs as an ally”.
Zelenskyy left the White House after raising his scepticism about Russia’s commitment to diplomacy, citing Moscow’s years of broken commitments on the global stage which prompted Trump to raise his voice and saying: “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people.”
Following the Ukrainian president’s departure, Smith said while broadcasting for the BBC: “With Donald Trump as angry as he has ever appeared in public, Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to back down, enraging the American president even further.
“They may never agree on whether Vladimir Putin can be trusted to stick to the terms of any deal.”
She added: “Driving away, he may have blown his one big chance to get Donald Trump on his side.
“He knows he needs American backing to fight the war.
“He needs American support to get what he wants in any peace deal.
“Right now he's made an enemy of the one man he really needs as an ally.”
Smith continued: “They never agreed. This is because Donald Trump does not like to be disrespected. “He does not like to be disagreed with in public.
“He will be furious with the way Volodymyr Zelenskyy acted.
Adding: “If Volodymyr Zelenskyy is to get back to the table to talk about this, he'll have to eat a pretty hefty portion of humble pie first, and I would say that when they do resume jobs, if they do resume jobs, he will be expected to sign up to a lot of what America wants them to agree to before they'll ever agree to move forward with this.”
Following his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy has urged his European allies not to break ranks.
Writing in Ukrainian on messenger app Telegram, Zelenskyy said: “It is very important for us that Ukraine is heard and that no one forgets about it, neither during the war nor after.
“It is important for people in Ukraine to know that they are not alone, that their interests are represented in every country, in every corner of the world.”
Zelenskyy will meet Keir Starmer at Downing Street on Sunday as European leaders gear up efforts to police a future Ukraine peace deal.
