Gavin Robinson has described Friday’s press conference at the White House as “appalling”.

The DUP leader was speaking a day after fellow DUP MP Jim Shannon said he was “flabbergasted” by it, stating that Donald Trump had behaved with “such cruelty”.

The press conference in the Oval Office saw Mr Trump berate Volodymyr Zelensky for being "very disrespectful" and told him to "be more thankful" for US support.

"I've empowered you to be a tough guy," Mr Trump told Mr Zelensky. "I don't think you'd be a tough guy without the United States."

placeholder image — US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in the Oval Office at the White House on February 28, 2025 in Washington, DC (photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

"Have you said thank you once during this entire meeting?” vice-president JD Vance asked Mr Zelensky.

Mr Robinson said: “I thought it was appalling and I think anybody that watched it will have been disappointed because you will always have to-ing and fro-ing in international relations and in diplomatic channels, but actually President Zelensky is a gentleman who has stood at the forefront of his country and their plight over the last three years.

“He is internationally regarded as somebody who has stepped up remarkably in defence of his nation, giving hope where seemingly there was little.

“For such a public spectacle it was disappointing.

“What we can recognise is that in all of these things there will be discussions to be had behind closed doors. That was a very public display of a discussion I don’t think we needed to see.”

The DUP Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly is set to travel to the USA for St Patrick’s Day events, but First Minister Michelle O’Neill will not.