NYT: Trump calls Kellogg an “idiot” during heated dispute over Ukraine

U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine Negotiations, Keith Kellogg, became the center of an internal conflict within Donald Trump’s administration amid sharp disagreements over policy toward Kyiv, according to an investigation by The New York Times (NYT).

On February 14, during the Munich Security Conference, Kellogg met with European and Ukrainian leaders who expressed concerns about the future of the transatlantic partnership.

“Do we still have an alliance?” asked Polish Deputy Prime Minister Radosław Sikorski.

Kellogg attempted to reassure allies, calling himself “your best friend” in the U.S. administration. At the same time, supporters of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth privately accused him in messages to Washington of “holding the line against these isolationists” in the White House, which further cemented his reputation as an outsider.

The situation was further inflamed by a Fox News report, which compared Kellogg’s description of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war” with statements by Trump, who had previously called Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections.”

During a subsequent Oval Office meeting, Trump reacted sharply to his envoy’s position.

“So you call Zelensky embattled and courageous?” the president asked.

“Sir, he is. It’s an existential fight on Ukrainian soil for his nation’s survival. When was the last time an American president faced that? It was Abraham Lincoln,” Kellogg replied.

According to sources cited by the newspaper, when recounting this episode to other advisers, Trump called Kellogg an “idiot.”

Despite this, Kellogg openly rejected Trump’s key assumption about Ukraine’s weakness and Russia’s invincibility. When the president repeated the claim that Ukraine would eventually lose territory, the envoy interrupted:

“Sir, that’s bullshit. The Russians aren’t invincible.”

This assessment was supported by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Cain, who stated that Russian forces are weak and incompetent. U.S. intelligence data indicated that even if Pokrovsk fell, it would take Russia up to 30 months to capture the entire Donetsk region, although later estimates shortened this period to 20 months or less.