Journalist who grilled Zelenskyy about wearing suit defends question - but insists he didn't mean to offend president

Brian Glenn, White House Correspondent of Real America's Voice, said it was a question that had been "circulating for a while" in the US as to why Mr Zelenskyy never "put on proper attire" when visiting world leaders.

However, Mr Glenn insisted he did not mean to "insult" the Ukrainian wartime leader.

Speaking to LBC's Ben Kentish, Mr Glenn said: "It was not meant to diminish the value of what's going on in the war.

"It was simply calling out maybe what we perceived as a lack of self respect for the presidency, for the Oval Office and for really $380billion plus that American taxpayers have been contributing towards this."

Read more: 'I changed, you haven't': Zelenskyy jibes at US reporter as he swaps military gear for black suit

Read more: Zelenskyy ‘bowled in’ and showed ‘no respect’ to Trump by not wearing a suit, says Farage

The journalist insisted it was different when businessman Elon Musk wore a t-shirt in the White House, because Mr Musk was saving the US money, while Ukraine was taking it.

He said: "Elon Musk is saving American taxpayers money. We are giving Ukraine hundreds of billions of dollars. There is a big difference."

Mr Glenn's questioning of Mr Zelenskyy during a meeting between the Ukrainian leader and President Trump earlier this year fed into an awkward and heated exchange of words between the world leaders.

At the time, Mr Zelenskyy responded to the journalist's question: "I will wear a costume when this war is finished."

"Maybe something like yours. Maybe something better. Maybe something cheaper," he added.

Mr Glenn had the chance to ask Mr Zelenskyy another question during a meeting between him and Mr Trump on Monday.

Mr Zelenskyy learnt from his previous misstep and was wearing a smarter outfit for the meeting.

Mr Glenn said: "President Zelenskyy, you look fabulous in that suit. You look good."

“That’s the one that attacked you,” Mr Trump said to Mr Zelenskyy, to which he replied: “I remember.”

The Ukrainian then drew laughter from the room when he told Mr Glenn: "You are in the same suit. I changed, you have not."

Mr Glenn told LBC that it wasn't "technically" the same suit, but he saw it as a "funny joke".

He added: "I think it loosened up that moment in the Oval Office. And you know what? From that point on, I remember making eye contact with President Zelenskyy multiple times.

"And it was kind of like a gentleman's nod, kind of like, okay, we're good. Okay, we're good. It was just a fun moment."