“You’re gambling with World War Three,” President Trump bellowed at President Zelensky of Ukraine. “And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country.”

The meeting in the Oval Office, which had begun cordially, had descended into a shouting match. “You have not said thank you once,” sniped JD Vance, the vice-president, seated at Trump’s left-hand side.

“From the very beginning of the war we’ve been alone,” Zelensky hit back. “And we are thankful. I said thanks.”

• Trump vents fury at Zelensky

“If you didn’t have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks,” Trump said.

“In three days,” Zelensky said. “I heard it from Putin. In three days.”

Trump leant forward, his face a thunderstorm. “It’s going to be very hard to do business like this,” he said, pinching the air with a finger and thumb.

Vance accused Zelensky of airing their differences in public. These Oval Office handshakes used to be a photo-opportunity, an aperitif before the main discussions behind closed doors.

• Zelensky leaves White House early

But Trump changed the menu. “You see, I think it’s good for the American people to see what’s going on,” he said. “I think it’s very important. That’s why I kept this going so long.”

Zelensky lapsed into stunned silence and scratched his nose.

None of this had been expected. Two European leaders, President Macron of France and Sir Keir Starmer, had come to the White House before Zelensky, laying the groundwork for an expected deal. There would be a ceasefire and Ukraine would give the revenues for half its mineral reserves to the United States.

Compare the body language…

This, Trump had maintained, would be enough of a security guarantee. The United States would not want a land invasion by Russia, when it was busy digging underneath that land for all those minerals. If you could not count on them to defend the people of Ukraine, you could surely count on America to protect the titanium the graphite and the lithium. At least while they were busy digging it up and carting it away.

Zelensky and Trump have never had the easiest relationship. At their first meeting, in 2019, Trump wanted him to investigate the Biden family. Zelensky was young and fresh-faced and in those days he wore a suit as he sat in a room at the United Nations, insisting that he had not been pushed around by Trump, who sat beside him.

This time Trump wants his minerals. Zelensky, now the warrior president, arrived dressed like a member of a Swat team. There was no lingering handshake and perhaps this was a harbinger of what was to come. He stood beside Trump at the front door, his hands at his sides, self-contained.

A week ago Trump had called him “a dictator” in a post on Truth Social. When a reporter asked Trump about this on Thursday, his face was blank and serene as a summer sky. “Did I say that?” he asked, softly. “I can’t believe I said that. Next question.”

He said it last week. But he is a man who lives in the moment.

“It’s an honour to have President Zelensky of Ukraine,” he said, once they were seated in the Oval Office. They had reached “a very fair deal”. The United States looked forward to getting some precious rocks.

• What happens with mineral deal now?

Then Zelensky began to speak. He said Russia had broken ceasefires 25 times. “That’s why we will never accept just ceasefire,” he said.

“You see the hatred he’s got for Putin?” said Trump. “That’s very tough for me to make a deal.”

Then Vance, a longtime sceptic of US aid to Ukraine, stirred the soup. “I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media,” he said. “You should be thanking the president.”

Zelensky echoed something Trump had said, about the US being an ocean away from any conflict. “You have a nice ocean,” Zelensky said. “But you will feel it in the future.”

Trump erupted. “Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel! You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel. We’re going to feel very good. We’re going to feel very good and very strong.”

Things unravelled from there. A reporter asked what would happen if Russia broke the ceasefire.

“What if anything?” Trump replied, exasperated. “What if a bomb drops on your head right now?” Zelensky sat back in his chair, a little black hole of misery.

“Let me tell you, Putin went through a hell of a lot with me,” Trump shouted. “Russia, Russia, Russia, did you ever hear of that deal? That was a phoney Hunter Biden, Joe Biden scam. Hillary Clinton. Shifty Adam Schiff.”

Zelensky clasped his hands and shifted around in his seat.

“The problem is, I’ve empowered you to be a tough guy,” Trump told him. “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out … But once we sign that deal, you’re in a much better position, but you’re not acting at all thankful, and that’s not a nice thing, I’ll be honest.”

Then he sniffed. “I think we’ve seen enough.”

Vance patted Trump on the shoulder. Zelensky managed to smile and give someone a thumbs-up. “This is going to be great television,” Trump said. “I will say that.”