Trump: It’s Ukraine’s Fault It Got Invaded by Russia
On a podcast released Thursday morning, Donald Trump said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy “should never have let that war start,” referring to Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, which began when Russia invaded the country in February 2022. It was the latest of Trump’s many statements absolving Russia—and its murderous leader, Vladimir Putin—of blame for the invasion. Throughout the nearly 90-minute interview with Patrick Bet-David on the PBD Podcast, Trump continued to slam Zelenskiy, facetiously calling him “one of the greatest salesmen I’ve ever seen.” “Who else got that kind of money in history? There’s never been. And that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help him because I feel very badly for those people. But he should never have let that war start. That war is a loser,” said Trump. After lying that Zelenskyy started Ukraine's war with Russia, Trump says he "largely blames" Biden for the war and adds that Biden "instigated" it. (Putin apparently is blameless in Trump's eyes) pic.twitter.com/19Wzpa3aOw— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 17, 2024Trump also focused on the “beautiful golden domes”—referring to the numerous Orthodox churches, many hundreds of years old—destroyed by the Russian army, rather than the one million dead or injured in the conflict. (Trump loves a good dome.) And then, he attempted to paint President Joe Biden as the instigator of the war, rather than Putin. “Everyone will say, ‘Oh, this is terrible, he’s blaming Biden,’” said Trump, who then clarified that he is in fact blaming Biden, adding that “he instigated that war.” Trump has come under fire this month over rumors that he continued his relationship with Russian autocrat Putin after leaving the Oval Office. As president, Trump sent Putin Covid tests; out of office, the two have reportedly talked on the phone on numerous occasions, though both deny this (not always convincingly). On Tuesday, the former president did very little to deny those allegations, stating in an interview with Bloomberg that it would have been “a smart thing.”
On a podcast released Thursday morning, Donald Trump said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy “should never have let that war start,” referring to Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, which began when Russia invaded the country in February 2022. It was the latest of Trump’s many statements absolving Russia—and its murderous leader, Vladimir Putin—of blame for the invasion.
Throughout the nearly 90-minute interview with Patrick Bet-David on the PBD Podcast, Trump continued to slam Zelenskiy, facetiously calling him “one of the greatest salesmen I’ve ever seen.”
“Who else got that kind of money in history? There’s never been. And that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help him because I feel very badly for those people. But he should never have let that war start. That war is a loser,” said Trump.
After lying that Zelenskyy started Ukraine's war with Russia, Trump says he "largely blames" Biden for the war and adds that Biden "instigated" it. (Putin apparently is blameless in Trump's eyes) pic.twitter.com/19Wzpa3aOw— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 17, 2024
Trump also focused on the “beautiful golden domes”—referring to the numerous Orthodox churches, many hundreds of years old—destroyed by the Russian army, rather than the one million dead or injured in the conflict. (Trump loves a good dome.) And then, he attempted to paint President Joe Biden as the instigator of the war, rather than Putin.
“Everyone will say, ‘Oh, this is terrible, he’s blaming Biden,’” said Trump, who then clarified that he is in fact blaming Biden, adding that “he instigated that war.”
Trump has come under fire this month over rumors that he continued his relationship with Russian autocrat Putin after leaving the Oval Office. As president, Trump sent Putin Covid tests; out of office, the two have reportedly talked on the phone on numerous occasions, though both deny this (not always convincingly). On Tuesday, the former president did very little to deny those allegations, stating in an interview with Bloomberg that it would have been “a smart thing.”
