Last week's volatile exchange in the Oval Office between President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Zelensky sent the world into a tailspin as the three leaders loudly argued over the US's support for Ukraine for over 10 minutes before the press.

The question hovering over Washington was whether the confrontation was a spontaneous outburst or a planned verbal smack down.

During the moments captured by pool reporters and photographers, Trump berated Zelensky, in an exchange that seemed to have been triggered by Vice President JD Vance suggesting that the Ukrainian leader was being “disrespectful” for “litigating in front of the media,” and that he had not thanked the president.