The Papers: Shameful Trump attack on Zelensky and Tearful Emma

- BBC News

The Papers: Shameful Trump attack on Zelensky and Tearful Emma

Most of the papers lead with what the Financial Times calls the "deepening rift" between the US and Ukraine.

It says the "war of words" between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky escalated after the American president made what the paper calls "his most overt threat yet to end the war on terms favourable to Moscow".

The Daily Express calls Trumps attack on Ukraines leader "shameful", while the Daily Mail says he appalled the world by calling Zelensky a dictator.

The Guardian says President Trumps comments were "rife with falsehoods".

The Matt cartoon in the Daily Telegraph plays on the legendary honesty of George Washington, who once admitted to his father that hed cut down his beloved cherry tree with his hatchet. The drawing shows Trump as a child, beside a fallen tree, telling his father: "I cannot tell a lie, the cherry tree started it".

For its part, the Daily Star pictures Trump on its front page as a giant orange poodle, on a leash held by Vladimir Putin.

In its editorial, the Sun calls Trumps attack on Zelensky a "rant beneath the dignity of his office". It says his job is not just about maximising his countrys profits, but about discerning right from wrong with absolute moral clarity.

The Mail says Trump is behaving more like an imperial potentate than the leader of the free world.

But, writing in the i, Patrick Cockburn dismisses the idea that Trump has been hoodwinked by Vladimir Putin, or has betrayed Ukraine. He says: "Much better than perpetually sneering at Trump would be for European leaders to emerge from one of their incessant conferences with an achievable peace plan of their own."

The UKs response to the row is the focus for the Times. It says Sir Keir Starmer "rebuked" the American president in a "pointed" statement which described Zelensky as Ukraines "democratically elected leader".

The Telegraph says President Trumps comments were the clearest signal that he will not support Ukraine in the same way as his predecessor - and it says the prime minister "sided with" Zelensky in the row.

The Daily Mirror reports the UK is to press ahead with £4.5bn in aid to Kyiv. It sums up Britains message as: "To Ukraine... with love".

The Times says a new study has found that hi-vis jackets designed to keep cyclists and pedestrians safe are actually invisible to modern car safety systems. It says tests in the US found cars fitted with automatic braking - which uses cameras and radar to spot obstacles - crashed into dummies wearing reflective strips. The car fims involved said they would examine the results to improve systems.

And several papers report on new trials in which comedy is being prescribed on the NHS.

The i says the aim is to show whether laughter really is the best medicine, especially for people who are lonely or isolated.

The Telegraph says the trial will also see if stand-up can lower the bill for treating mental health problems. The founder of the company behind the scheme says that teaching kids "how to improvise and giggle is surely better than prescribing anti-depressants".

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