Donald Trump does not "believe" that Zelensky called him a dictator

^{Photo: Yuri Gripas/Pool via CNP/AdMedia/picture alliance}
On February 27, Thursday, Donald Trump retracted his previous statement that Volodymyr Zelensky is a "dictator." "Did I say that? I don't believe so. Next question," the US president responded to a journalist's question during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House.

On February 19, Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform that the Ukrainian president is a "dictator without elections" for "refusing to hold elections" in his country. "Zelensky better hurry up, otherwise his country will be gone," the American leader added. That day, Donald Trump repeated this statement while speaking at a rally in Miami.

In response to a question on February 24 about whether US President Vladimir Putin can be called a dictator, he said: "I don't use such words without thinking," and did not label the Russian leader as such.

Trump's statements have been criticized

The statements of the White House leader have been criticized both in Ukraine and abroad. In particular, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the US president's words "wrong and dangerous." "The truth is that Volodymyr Zelensky is the legitimately elected leader of the Ukrainian state. The impossibility of conducting proper elections in wartime aligns with the rules of the Ukrainian Constitution and electoral legislation. And no one has the right to claim otherwise," emphasized the head of the German government.

The European Commission commented on Trump's verbal attack on Zelensky: "We have a clear position on this matter: President Zelensky was legitimately elected in free, fair, and democratic elections. Ukraine is a democratic state, while Putin's Russia is not." The United Nations also confirmed that Volodymyr Zelensky is "in his position after properly conducted elections."