An astonishing scene played out in the Oval Office on Friday as President Trump and Vice President Vance got into a shouting match with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Amid angry crosstalk, Trump told Zelensky “without us, you don’t have any cards” and “you’re gambling with World War III.” Vance, for his part, accused Zelensky of being “disrespectful.”

Zelensky had taken issue with Trump’s depiction of him as having so much “hatred” for Russian President Vladimir Putin that it made it hard to end the conflict.

The Ukrainian president also pushed back on Vance’s suggestion that diplomacy could end the war — insisting that his nation had previously adopted that approach after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, only for Putin to launch a full-scale invasion in 2022.

The clash derailed the proposed signing of a deal granting the U.S. some rights over Ukraine’s mineral deposits. A news conference between Trump and Zelensky that had been scheduled was abruptly canceled, and Zelensky left the White House without further comment.

Here are five big takeaways.

A row heard around the world

It’s hard to exaggerate the seismic shock created by the squabble in the Oval Office.

The political world, in the U.S. and internationally, was instantly aflame over what had taken place. On cable news, usually loquacious anchors were left struggling for words.

It’s been years, if ever, since such a spectacle was seen on public display at the White House.

Inevitably, the shock spurred fevered speculation. One big question was whether Trump and Vance had intentionally provoked Zelensky, whom Trump recently dubbed a “dictator,” into a confrontation.

The other was whether the Ukrainian leader had reacted too intemperately in the moment, to the detriment of his national interests.

Certainly, Trump’s initial comments about Zelensky’s “hatred” for Putin carried a disparaging tone that it is hard to imagine being expressed toward any other U.S. ally who was trying........

© The Hill