Trump called envoy Kellogg an "idiot" for backing Zelensky, revealing rifts over Ukraine policy ahead of Kellogg’s January 2026 exit.

U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly called his Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, an "idiot" after Kellogg publicly defended Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a courageous leader, contradicting Trump’s criticism of Zelensky as a "dictator without elections." The clash highlighted growing internal divisions over U.S. strategy in the war, with Kellogg advocating for continued military aid and sanctions, while administration officials close to Vice President J.D. Vance viewed his approach as outdated and counterproductive. Kellogg, a retired general who visited Kyiv multiple times but not Moscow, is expected to step down in January 2026, a move seen as unwelcome in Kyiv. He was absent from key diplomatic meetings between Trump and Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago and Trump and Putin in Alaska.