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Analysis: 10 minutes at the White House that may change the world

Friday’s exchange has never happened in modern history. The leaders of two countries got into an angry shouting incident in the Oval Office.

Trump, Vance call Zelenskyy 'disrespectful' in heated Oval Office meeting

This is a very dark moment in history.

Shortly after the confrontation with President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance arguing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of TV cameras, Zelenskyy and his team were asked to leave the White House.

In minutes, air raid sirens began sounding and several Russian attacks on Ukraine took place.

Security in Ukraine and Europe and beyond may take a huge hit — maybe literally.

Because many are worried that Russia will be emboldened by what took place.

Within an hour after the incident, former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev wrote on social media about Zelenskyy:

“The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office. And @realDonaldTrump is right: The Kiev regime is “gambling with WWIII.”

During the meeting, Trump told Zelenskyy he was risking World War 3 and Vance reprimanded Zelenskyy for not being grateful enough.

Numerous leaders from different parts of the world that I communicated with were flabbergasted. Many reached out to Zelenskyy with words of support.

French President Macron wrote on X, “Let’s choose Europe.”

Millions of people watched the exchange around the world. It’s possible that hundreds of millions of people will watch it over and over again on social media.

It was an enduring moment that’s likely to be hard for the world to make sense of.

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J.J. Green

JJ Green is WTOP's National Security Correspondent. He reports daily on security, intelligence, foreign policy, terrorism and cyber developments, and provides regular on-air and online analysis. He is also the host of two podcasts: Target USA and Colors: A Dialogue on Race in America.

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