How Trump’s rhetoric about Zelenskyy and Putin has evolved, in his own words

U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly said during his campaign that, if elected to a second term, he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine “in 24 hours.” But since his Jan. 20 inauguration, the road to a peace deal has been fraught with changing dynamics between the U.S. leader, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump’s rhetoric toward both Zelenskyy and Putin has evolved since the beginning of the year.

WATCH: Ukraine’s Zelenskyy addresses U.N. General Assembly

At the outset of his second term, Trump was conciliatory toward Putin, for whom he has long shown admiration. But in recent months the Republican leader has expressed increasing exasperation with Putin, while he appears to have softened toward Zelenskyy after a February blowout in the Oval Office.

And on Tuesday, he said he believed Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia — a dramatic shift from the U.S. leader’s repeated calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end the war.

Here’s a look at what Trump has said so far during his second term.

Jan. 31

“We want to end that war. That war would have not started if I was president.”

Trump says his new administration has already had “very serious” discussions with Russia and that he and Putin could soon take “significant” action toward ending the conflict, which began in February 2022.

Feb. 19

“A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.”

Trump’s harsh words for Zelenskyy on his Truth Social platform drew criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans in the United States, where defending Ukraine from Russian aggression has traditionally had bipartisan support. Zelenskyy said Trump was falling into a Russian disinformation trap — and he was quickly admonished by Vice President JD Vance about the perils of publicly criticizing the new president.

Feb. 28

“You’re gambling with World War III. And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have.”

READ MORE: What Trump and Zelenskyy said during their heated argument in the Oval Office

Trump and Vance berated Zelenskyy over the war in Ukraine, accusing him of not showing gratitude after he challenged Vance on the question of diplomacy with Putin. The argument in the Oval Office was broadcast globally. It led to the rest of Zelenskyy’s White House visit being canceled and called into question the U.S. support of Ukraine in its defense against Russia. A few days after the blowup, Trump temporarily paused military aid to Ukraine to pressure Zelenskyy to seek peace.

March 30

“I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word. You’re talking about Putin. I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word. I’ve known him for a long time. We’ve always gotten along well.”

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, the U.S. president said he trusts the Russian president to hold up his end of a potential peace deal. The comments were among the last positive remarks Trump made about Putin this year.

April 24

“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”

READ MORE: ‘Vladimir, STOP!’ Trump posts rare criticism of Putin after deadly attack on Kyiv

In a Truth Social post, Trump was reacting to Russia attacking Kyiv with an hourslong barrage of missiles and drones. It was the first of his rare criticism of Putin amid increased Russian attacks on Ukraine.

April 29

“A lot of his people are dying. They’re being killed, and I feel very badly about it.”

Trump addressed the toll on Ukrainians during an interview with ABC News after he met with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral. It was the first time the two leaders had met since the Oval Office spat, and signaled a shift in Trump’s attitude toward the Ukrainian president.

May 25

“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!”

READ MORE: Trump says Putin ‘has gone absolutely CRAZY!’ as Russia escalates drone attacks on Ukraine

Trump’s Truth Social post made it clear he was losing patience with Putin as Moscow pounded Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles in stepped-up aerial attacks.

June 25

“He was very nice actually. We had a little rough times, sometimes. He was … Couldn’t have been nicer. I think he’d like to see an end to this, I do.”

Trump had a closed-door meeting with Zelenskyy during a NATO summit in The Hague. Trump’s comments to reporters later also opened the possibility of sending Patriot air-defense missiles to Ukraine.

July 8

“We get a lot of bull–—t thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”

Trump also said he’s “not happy” with his Russian counterpart and that Moscow’s war in Ukraine is “killing a lot of people” on both sides. Trump’s comments during a Cabinet meeting came a day after he said the United States would send more weapons to Ukraine. It was a dramatic reversal after earlier announcing a pause in the delivery of previously approved firepower to Kyiv, a decision that was made amid concerns that America’s military stockpiles had declined too much.

July 13

“I am very disappointed with President Putin, I thought he was somebody that meant what he said. He’ll talk so beautifully and then he’ll bomb people at night. We don’t like that.”

Trump’s remarks to reporters came as Russia has intensified its aerial attacks against Ukraine.

July 14

“I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy. It’s been proven over the years. He’s fooled a lot of people before.”

Trump pushed harder against Putin during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. He said if there was no deal to end the war within 50 days, the U.S. would impose “secondary tariffs,” meaning taxes would target Russia’s trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow.

Trump and Rutte also discussed a rejuvenated pipeline for U.S. weapons. European allies plan to buy military equipment and then transfer it to Ukraine.

Aug. 15

“There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”

WATCH: Trump meets Putin in Alaska with future of Ukraine war hanging in balance

Trump failed to secure an agreement from Putin during a summit in Alaska to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, falling short in his most significant move yet to stop the bloodshed, even after rolling out the red carpet for the man who started it.

The U.S. president had wanted to show off his deal-making skills. Instead, he handed Putin long-sought recognition on the international stage, after years of Western efforts to make him a pariah over the war and his crackdown on dissent, and forestalled the threat of additional U.S. sanctions.

Sept. 23

“Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win. This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger.’ ”

WATCH: Trump suggests Ukraine could reclaim territory from Russia

Trump posted on social media soon after meeting with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly gathering of world leaders.

He also said he believed Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia, a departure from Trump’s previous suggestions that Ukraine would never be able to reclaim all the territory that Russia has occupied since it seized the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.