Former Trump official calls out Rice over Zelensky being ‘setup’ at White House meeting

Things are starting to heat up between Biden officials and past and present Trump officials over the Trump-Zelensky blowout last week.

After former Obama and Biden official Susan Rice accused the White House of setting up Zelensky, former Trump official Richard Grenell called her out.

The Trump Meeting

I would not go so far as to say the meeting was a setup, but I definitely believe that Vance went into that meeting with a bone to pick with Zelensky.

If you recall, Zelensky appeared with Harris in Pennsylvania during the campaign, and although the event was not billed as a campaign event, no PA Republicans were invited, which had some GOP officials calling for an investigation for an FEC violation.

Toward the end of the blowout, Vance brought that appearance back up, demanding that Zelensky show some gratitude toward Trump, who was trying to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia.

Dems pounced on the blowout, with Susan Rice, who served in both the Obama and Biden administration, leading the charge.

Rice Says It Was a ‘Setup’

Rice was on CNN with Wolf Blitzer where she offered her two cents about the meeting, stating, "Well, Wolf, in my estimation, it was a setup. Let's recall the sequence here. Zelensky reluctantly agreed to a bad deal regarding his mineral wealth for which he got nothing in exchange. Not as bad a deal as the original one that the Trump administration proposed, but still nothing in it for Ukraine.

“He nonetheless was prepared to sign it, to come to Washington, to have the opportunity to try to persuade Donald Trump, before negotiations get really underway, that Ukraine desperately needs security guarantees.

“So he came, hat in hand, to the Oval Office. Donald Trump kept the pool spray in there for 40 minutes, and was saying things that were outrageous that like, you know, Ukraine started the war and Russia is not the aggressor."

This led to former Trump official Richard Grenell calling her out.

Grenell Goes Off

After Rice’s interview, Grenell exploded on X, posting, "Your guy couldn’t even talk to Putin. For 3.5 years! Your policies helped usher in a war in Ukraine, Gaza…and Rwanda if you remember. And then you lied about Libya - it wasn’t caused by a video. You made that up…. Donald Trump handed you peace in the Middle East and Europe - you handed us two wars. We see you.”

Rice then responded, “You clowns are up to the same old tired crap. When your guy screws up and royally embarrasses himself and the U.S., you try to change the subject and lie about a favorite target to distract and deflect.

“For the record, I have never met Zelenskyy and never spoken to him. Ever. Or advised him or anybody around him. It’s a shame that you contend that it is in the U.S. national interest to sell out Ukraine and suck up to Putin.”

As I stated in a previous report, there were rumors this weekend that Zelensky had met with a board of Democrat advisers, who reportedly told him not to sign the deal. We know Senator Murphy (D-CT) was at the meeting, as he had posted about it on X after the fact. It was not confirmed if Rice was at the meeting or not. Regardless, Dems are sabotaging a possible peace deal, leading Zelensky right off the ledge without benefit of a cigarette or blindfold. And when she talks about Ukraine not getting anything in exchange for the mineral rights deal... last time I checked, we have given Ukraine nearly $200 billion in aid, so I think he has plenty already.