Trump finally reveals how he thinks he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine in a day
The former president boasted about his relationships to the Russian and Ukrainian presidents
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Months after claiming he could end Russia’s war on Ukraine in 24 hours, former president Donald Trump has finally offered an explanation for why he thinks it’d be so simple for him.
Mr Trump was asked for his specific plan to bring the war to an end in an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures” over the weekend.
He asserted that it would boil down to his established relationships with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I know Zelensky very well, I know Putin very well—even better—and I had a very good relationship with both of them,” he said.
He said he would tell Mr Zelensky: “No more, you gotta make a deal,” and Mr Putin: “If you don’t make a deal, we’re gonna give them a lot. We’re gonna give more than they ever got.”
Mr Trump also called Mr Zelensky “very honourable” because “when they asked him about the perfect phone call I made…he said he didn’t even know what they were talking about.”
This “perfect phone call” was the 25 July 2019 call between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky, in which the US president offered a “quid pro quo” agreement to pressure his Ukrainian counterpart into pushing baseless conspiracies about his Democratic 2020 rival, Joe Biden, in exchange for US aid, according to a whistleblower complaint.
This exchange eventually led to the former president’s abuse of power violation resulting in his first impeachment.
Mr Trump has long insisted that he would be the best person to help bring the war in Ukraine to an end.
“If I were president, and I say this, I will end that war in one day, it would take 24 hours,” Mr Trump said in a May interview.
“I know Zelensky well, I know Putin well. I would get that ended in a period of 24 hours. It would be easy, that deal would be easy.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments