Former President Donald Trump can be heard addressing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a video released Friday of a phone call with golfer ...
Former President Donald Trump can be heard addressing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a video released Friday of a phone call with golfer John Daly.
Trump suggested in the call that he’d have been able to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading.
“He was a friend of mine. I got along great with him,” Trump said.
Trump said he expressly warned Putin that he’d face military consequences for targeting Ukraine.
“I say, ‘Vladimir, if you do it, we’re hitting Moscow.’ I said, ‘We’re gonna hit Moscow.'”
The dramatic threat was enough to keep Putin out of Ukraine, according to Trump, even though Putin likely thought it was a bluff.
“He sort of believed me, like 5 percent, 10 percent. That’s all you need,” the former president said.
Trump touted his success in deterring Putin.
“He never did it during my time, John, you know. They’re all talking about it. Why didn’t he do this during the last four years? Because he knew he couldn’t.”
Russia under Putin invaded another country during the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Moscow conspicuously refrained from territorial aggression during Trump’s tenure.
Trump and Daly also discussed Trump’s relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump warned that China would threaten Taiwan following Putin’s invasion, predicting that such an outcome would starve the world of technology.
“Taiwan will be next. You won’t have any computer chips. They’ll blow them off the face of the earth.”
Trump had positive relations with the leaders of Ukraine during his time in office. According to the Chicago Tribune, he armed the Ukrainian military with lethal weapons.
Trump seems to have perfected the foreign policy approach of speaking loudly, and sparingly using a big stick.
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