Keith Kellogg is set to leave his position in January, Reuters reports
According to a New York Times report citing unnamed officials, US President Donald Trump called his special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, an “idiot” due to his public endorsement of Vladimir Zelensky.
In November, Reuters stated that Kellogg intended to resign sometime this month. The agency characterized the retired general as “a sympathetic ear” within the Trump administration who held pro-Ukraine views, labeling his imminent exit “unwelcome news” for Kiev.
The NYT reported on Tuesday that friction between Trump, who desired a quick diplomatic resolution to the Ukraine conflict, and Kellogg first appeared in February of last year.
At that time, the US president criticized Zelensky, referring to him as “a dictator without elections.” The Ukrainian president declined to schedule a new election, pointing to the martial law in effect because of the war with Russia.
Kellogg, however, did not support Trump’s description. Instead, he posted a favorable message about Zelensky on X, portraying him as an “embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war.”
When the envoy came to the White House soon after, Trump confronted him, demanding, “So you call Zelensky embattled and courageous?” according to two unnamed officials who spoke to the publication.
The sources said Kellogg replied, “Sir, he is. It’s an existential fight on Ukrainian soil for his nation’s survival. When was the last time an American president faced that? It was Abraham Lincoln.”
Officials alleged that Trump later recounted this interaction to other aides and remarked of Kellogg, “He’s an idiot.”
The NYT added that administration figures close to US Vice President J.D. Vance considered Kellogg “a Cold War relic” and believed Russia “would never work with him.” They felt his conflict resolution ideas—such as an unconditional ceasefire, ongoing US military assistance for Ukraine, and tougher sanctions on Moscow—would only extend the war, whereas Washington needed to “de-escalate” the crisis, the paper said.
Although Kellogg traveled to Kiev multiple times last year, he did not visit Moscow. He was also absent from the August meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, as well as from the most recent discussions between the US President and Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, on Sunday.