Johnson: US 'not abandoning Ukraine,' but Zelensky's priorities 'in the wrong place'

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said that the U.S. is not "abandoning Ukraine" but that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's priorities are not in the right place following a heated exchange between the Ukrainian leader and President Trump.

When NBC's "Meet The Press" host Kristen Welker asked if Trump is aligning the U.S. with Russia, Johnson said that the president "is trying to get these two parties to a point of peace."

"You have two parties who, to this point, have not shown any interest, apparently, in getting to peace," he said. "What President Zelensky did in the White House was effectively signal to us that he's not ready for that yet, and I think that's a grave disappointment."

"You've got to bring an end to this war," he continued. "And for Zelensky to come in and make demands that he wasn't even making a year ago, I think, shows that his priorities are in the wrong place, and I certainly hope that he will come back to his senses."

When pressed further by Welker about whether the U.S. will take steps to remove themselves from Ukraine, bringing up the Trump administration's refusal to blame Russia for starting the war in Ukraine, Johnson responded that the U.S. has no plans to do so.

"No, they're not abandoning Ukraine," he said.

Johnson also criticized Zelenksy for his demeanor during the Trump meeting.

"It is not the President and the Vice President that berated Zelensky," he said. "I saw it the other way around. I saw Zelensky rather stiff-necked in the Oval Office. Instead of being gracious and saying thank you and looking for a way out of this mess, he did quite the opposite of that."

Johnson's comments come after a contentious meeting between Zelensky and Trump on Friday left negotiations for an end to the war in Ukraine in limbo.