Trump goes three-ring circus on Zelensky as he likens Ukraine leader to ‘PT Barnum’ in Greatest Showman-tinged interview

Trump goes three-ring circus on Zelensky as he likens Ukraine leader to ‘PT Barnum’ in Greatest Showman-tinged interview

Brendan Rascius

Tue, December 9, 2025 at 6:03 PM UTC

5 min read

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President Donald Trump has likened Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to P.T. Barnum — the fabled American showman and huckster, who popularized the three-ring circus — arguing he’s received billions in American aid and has little to show for it.

In a wide-ranging interview with Politico published Tuesday, Trump telegraphed both admiration for and frustration with Zelensky, saying that he should accept a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

“He’s a great salesman,” the president said. “I call him P.T. Barnum. You know who P.T. Barnum was, right?”

“One of the greatest on Earth,” Trump continued. “He could sell any product at any time. That was his expression, I can sell any product at any time. It was true. He said, doesn’t matter whether it works or not...But he’s P.T. Barnum, you know. He… he got, uh, crooked Joe Biden to give him $350 billion. And look what it got ... got him. About 25 percent of his country is missing.”

Trump, whose career has centered on personal branding, has been compared to P.T. Barnum in the past and embraced it.

In a new interview, President Donald Trump described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as "P.T. Barnum" and "a great salesman." (Getty Images)

“Look, people call you names,” he told Meet the Press in 2016. “We need P.T. Barnum, a little bit, because we have to build up the image of our country.”

Trump’s latest remarks come as his administration is working to resolve the Ukraine-Russia war, which has raged for nearly four years. Despite months of diplomatic negotiations and high-profile summits, efforts to achieve peace have been unsuccessful.

In late November, the United States’ 28-point peace proposal leaked, triggering alarm among Ukrainian and European leaders, who claimed it ceded to many of Russia's demands, including by forcing Ukraine to give up some of its territory in the east.

Last week, Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to try to narrow the differences. On Monday, Zelensky met with European leaders to discuss the latest U.S.-backed peace plan.

“He’s gotta read the proposal,” Trump said of Zelensky. “He hasn’t read it yet…It would be nice if he would read it. You know, a lot of people are dying.”

Trump added that Zelensky needs to start “accepting things” because “he’s losing.”

“We don't want to cede anything," Zelensky said during an online press conference on Monday. “We have no legal right to do so, under Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law. And we don't have any moral right either.” He added he would send a revised peace plan to Trump.

Russia currently occupies about one-fifth of Ukraine, and its military has made incremental but steady gains in recent months. The conflict has been extremely costly, resulting in around 1.4 million casualties, according to a June analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Trump hosted Zelensky for lunch at the White House on October 17 to discuss a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. (Getty Images)

Trump was also asked about a recent interview by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who claimed the president may walk away from Ukraine.

“It’s not correct,” Trump clarified. “But it’s not exactly wrong…They have to play ball. If they, uh ... if they don’t read agreements, potential agreements, you know, it’s, uh, not easy with Russia ’cause Russia has the upper ... upper hand. And they always did. They’re much bigger.”

He added: “I give the people of Ukraine and the military of Ukraine tremendous credit for the, you know, bravery and for the fighting and all of that. But you know, at some point, size will win, generally.”

“This is not a war that should’ve happened. What a sad thing for humanity.”

Most Ukrainians appear ready to bring the war, the deadliest in Europe since World War II, to an end. An August Gallup poll found that 69 percent of Ukrainians support a negotiated settlement, marking a massive reversal from 2022, when just 22 percent said the same.

Politico also asked the president whether or not he believes Ukraine should hold elections, which have been suspended during the war.

Putin met with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, at the Kremlin on December 2 (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

“Yeah, I think it’s time,” Trump said. “I would think the Ukrainian people would ... should have that choice. And maybe Zelenskyy would win. I don’t know who would win. But they haven’t had an election in a long time. You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Trump accused former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, his Democratic predecessors, of laying the groundwork for the war in Ukraine.

He also heaped scorn on European leaders, describing them as “weak” and “politically correct” on immigration.

"Their immigration policy is a disaster. What they’re doing with immigration is a disaster,” Trump said.

The conversation later shifted to domestic politics, with Trump facing questions about his economic policies, a topic that has raised concerns among many of his own supporters.

Asked what grade he would give his economy, Trump replied: “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.”

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