US officials have reportedly asked Ukrainian officials whether President Volodymyr Zelensky will wear a suit to his meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Monday.
According to Axios, two sources “with direct knowledge” of the meeting said the question had been posed. One of the sources added that Zelensky is expected to be wearing the same black jacket he wore to a NATO summit in the Netherlands in June – adding that “it is going to be ‘suit-style’ but not a full suit.”
Monday’s summit will be the first time Zelensky steps foot in the White House following the infamous Feb. 28 Oval Office clash – during which a reporter heckled Zelensky by asking why the wartime leader did not wear a suit.
At the meeting, Zelensky questioned Trump’s claim that Ukraine’s European allies had given them “much less” support than the US. Trump, along with US Vice President JD Vance, then berated him for ingratitude and disrespect.
Trump later wrote on X that Zelensky had “disrespected the US in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
As per Axios, Trump was reportedly pleased when Zelensky wore a black suit jacket to the NATO summit in June. “Zelensky came like a normal human being, not crazy, and was dressed like somebody that should be at NATO. ... So they had a good conversation,” a US official told them at the time.
Zelensky has worn the jacket on several occasions since March but never with a tie – according to one of Axios’s sources, Monday’s summit is not expected to change this.
Trump’s warmer-than-expected summit with Putin in Alaska on Friday has heightened the pressure on Zelensky to secure US backing at Monday’s talks.