U.S. President Donald Trump reversed his statement made about a week ago, calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a 'dictator who did not hold elections,' on the 27th (local time). It appears that his remarks were made with the context of President Zelensky visiting Washington, D.C., on the 28th to sign a mineral agreement with the U.S.
According to The Hill, during a press Q&A session at the White House, as Trump met with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer to start their summit, when asked if he still thinks Zelensky is a dictator, he replied, "Um, did I say that? I can't believe I said that," before quickly adding, "Next question."
Earlier, on the 19th, Trump had posted on social media that due to the martial law caused by the war with Russia, Zelensky had not held elections, referring to him as "dictator Zelensky who did not hold elections."
On the same day, Trump stated that he believes he and Zelensky have "maintained a very good relationship," but he also noted that he might have been a bit annoyed because he wanted to have at least a fraction of what the European Union (EU) has. He claimed that while the EU is getting back the support it provided to Ukraine, the U.S. is not. In response, Prime Minister Starmer, who was sitting next to Trump, attempted to correct him, saying, "We are not getting back all our money in Ukraine," adding, "Most of that was a gift."