Fox News veteran Brian Kilmeade and Fox & Friends Weekend cohost Rachel Campos-Duffy clashed on air Sunday over Donald Trump’s reported plan to bring Russian diesel into the United States.
The 62-year-old Kilmeade joined the program to discuss Trump’s weekend call for Ukraine to consider replacing President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Campos-Duffy argued that Trump’s remarks were prompted by Ukrainian attacks that had contributed to pressure on global diesel supplies. In her view, Ukraine’s military strategy was “hurting President Trump and the administration.”
She then invited Kilmeade to offer his assessment.
Kilmeade suggested Trump’s criticism of Zelensky reflected frustration with the Ukrainian president’s condemnation of the diesel arrangement. He said the proposed fuel deal represented the beginning of what could become a betrayal.
After noting that the arrangement appeared to conflict with a bipartisan law allowing the president to impose tariffs of as much as 100 percent on Russian oil, Kilmeade quipped, “Do we tariff ourselves?”
He later warned Campos-Duffy—whose husband is Trump’s transportation secretary—that the administration could be placing the United States on the wrong side of history by aligning with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Kilmeade compared to a modern-day Adolf Hitler.
“Zelensky’s frustrated because all this money will flow into Russia, who started this whole war, unprovoked. They are the bad guys,” Kilmeade said.
Fox News host Brian Kilmeade had a tense exchange with Fox & Friends Weekend cohost Rachel Campos-Duffy over Donald Trump’s reported Russian diesel deal during Sunday’s broadcast
The disagreement intensified when Kilmeade warned that siding with Russia instead of Ukraine could leave the administration on the wrong side of history
Campos-Duffy promptly challenged his argument.
“Are you saying that there were not peace efforts, that were not—” she began.
Kilmeade cut in, saying, “There’s no plausible, practical peace effort that Vladimir Putin would participate in, effectively, that would end this war.”
Campos-Duffy continued trying to respond as the exchange grew more heated.
Speaking over her, Kilmeade declared, “There’s one person who is responsible. Vladimir Putin. That is it.”
As Campos-Duffy attempted to interject again, Kilmeade added of Putin, “And he’s getting his a** kicked.”
Campos-Duffy, who has cohosted Fox & Friends Weekend since 2021, then pointed to ceasefire discussions facilitated by Turkey and the United Nations involving Russia and Ukraine over the Black Sea.
“Boris Johnson advised Zelensky not to take the deal,” she said, only for Kilmeade to dismiss the point almost immediately.
The argument unfolded as fellow cohosts Charles Hurt and Griff Jenkins watched the increasingly tense exchange
Kilmeade responded with a joke: “I don’t know what Boris Johnson is doing now—is he in a retirement home?”
Cohosts Griff Jenkins and Charles Hurt repeatedly averted their eyes as the altercation became increasingly tense.
‘No. No, but I think- I think that there’s – there’s a reason that the president is buying the- the- the- the diesel from Russia,’ Campos-Duffy stammered. She said it was because of Zelensky’s continued strikes on Russian refineries.
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‘Can you blame him,’ Kilmeade stressed. Minutes before, Campos-Duffy suggested he was a ‘big fan of Zelensky[‘s].’
‘That’s the war machine that’s killing his people, that bombs apartment buildings,’ Kilmeade argued.
‘But he’s dependent on us, and the president said don’t do it,’ Campos-Duffy hit back.
As Kilmeade started to answer, she asked, ‘Are you for America or for-‘ before trailing off.
Kilmeade claimed the diesel shortage could be traced back to Iran and its attacks on Gulf States.
Kilmeade claimed the diesel shortage could be traced back to Iran and its attacks
The Ukrainian president also argued over the weekend that the real source of rising energy prices was the Middle East war and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz
He called the ‘new emphasis’ Trump was putting ‘on Russia’ merely a distraction
‘They’ll be writing about this in war journals forever. The Ukrainians have modernized modern war before our very eyes,’ Kilmeade said of Ukraine’s continued use of drone warfare.
‘I’m not so sure there’s a positive, Brian,’ a visibly unconvinced Campos-Duffy hit back. ‘There are 30,000 young men on each side that are dying every single month,’
Kilmeade had two words, this time. ‘Vladimir Putin,’ he stressed.
The two began to speak over each other at this point. Campos-Duffy claimed ‘kids’ in the Ukrainian army were being used ‘as Guinea pigs’ to advance the US’s military.
‘What kids?’ Kilmeade asked, paving the way for another exchange.
‘These are young men,’ Campos-Duffy bristled at a point.
‘Rachel, this is a response to attacks,’ Kilmeade continued. ‘They’re getting rocketed, so they found a way to out-.
Campos-Duffy interrupted to point out that Trump ‘said he wanted peace in Ukraine’ – to which Kilmeade said with a smile: ‘Tell Vladimir Putin.’
Kilmeade warned of the diesel deal: ‘It would be the biggest mistake of his administration to work with Russia. That is a- that is the modern Hitler of our generation’
She framed the Ukrainian leader as ‘arrogant’ and the reason for the lack of peace.
Kilmeade, at this point, blurted out: ‘It would be the biggest mistake of his administration to work with Russia. That is a- that is the modern Hitler of our generation.
‘He is the cause of all the problems in the region, and now is helping Iran kill our guys and blow up our bases,’ Kilmeade concluded.
The moment was quickly clipped and went viral on Sunday.
The Ukrainian president also argued that the real source of rising energy prices was the Middle East war and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.