U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky watch during a meeting in New York on September 25, 2019, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images
She loves him, doesn’t she?
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump continues to keep people guessing about his position on Ukraine — and what he thinks of the country’s wartime leader, President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In Trump’s much-publicized interview with X owner Elon Musk on Monday, the former president raised eyebrows when he said “there is no one who feels worse about the situation in Ukraine than I do,” given his earlier hints that he would could cut vital funding for Ukraine’s war. if elected to the White House in November.
The GOP nominee also described Zelenskyy as “very honest” in his handling of a phone call that led to Trump’s first impeachment of 2019.
During the now infamous phone conversation In July 2019, Trump told newly elected Zelenskiy — then a political novice — that he would like to “do us a favor” by helping to investigate Trump’s Democratic political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who had business dealings in Ukraine.
The call sparked allegations that Trump had improperly sought help from Ukraine to boost his chances of re-election in 2020, and resulted in Trump being impeached in late 2019. He was acquitted after a two-week Senate trial in early 2020, however , and has categorically denied any wrongdoing.
At the time, Zelensky said there was no blackmail in the call with Trump.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, capital of Ukraine, on July 23, 2019.
Hennadii Minchenko | Future Publishing | Getty Images
Speaking to Musk during an interview streamed on social media platform X on Monday, Trump addressed the incident, stating: “Zelensky, he was very honorable to me because when they went with the Russia hoax and said I had a phone call with him. he said it was a perfect call, it was a great call.”
Trump added: “He could stand and say, ‘Oh, he was very threatening.’ [But] He said, no, it was a very nice phone call.”
Zelensky the “salesman”
The praise for Zelensky was a far cry from earlier this year, when Trump called the president “perhaps the greatest salesman of any politician who ever lived,” suggesting that Ukraine’s requests for — and receipt of — U.S. military aid packages were based on skill of Zelensky. and skills as a diplomat, rather than on the real needs of Ukraine.
“I think Zelensky is probably the biggest salesman of any politician who’s ever lived,” Trump said in June, moving from calling the Green New Deal a “fraud” to describing Zelensky.
The former White House leader said of the Ukrainian leader, “every time he comes to our country, he leaves with $60 billion.” referring to a major U.S. aid package that Republicans and Democrats fought over and finally agreed to in April.
Trump corrected, MSNBC reported at the timesaying he “likes” Zelensky — before returning to his criticism of the Ukrainian leader.
“[Zelenskyy] He just left four days ago with $60 billion and he comes home and announces he needs another $60 billion. It never ends. It never ends,” Trump said.
Republican presidential candidate former US President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University on August 9, 2024 in Bozeman, Montana.
Michael Ciaglo | News Getty Images | Getty Images
Referring to the war in Ukraine, Trump concluded that he would “fix” the crisis during his post-election presidency. “I have to stop it,” he said.
Trump’s ambivalence about the merits of continued support for Ukraine has come into focus in recent months, particularly as polls have suggested he could win another term in the White House.
Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris is slightly ahead of Trump in several swing states, according to the latest New York Times and Siena College poll in early August — suggesting, however, that the election race is wide open.
Another phone call
With a close eye on the US presidential contest, Ukraine must walk a fine line between its current supporters in the Democratic Party and the prospect of a possible Trump presidency in which US economic and military advantages – aid that has largely enabled the Kiev to continue fighting Russia from February 2022 — could be limited or new terms imposed.
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a coordination meeting on the state of security and protection of the state border, which was attended by representatives of the Military Administration, the State Border Guard Service and the Chiefs of the Military Commands of Volyn, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Kyiv and Chernihiv Regions in Volyn Oblast, Ukraine on July 30, 2024.
Ukrainian Presidency | Anadolu | Getty Images
After receiving the Republican nomination in July, Trump said he spoke with Zelensky again and had a “very good” conversation.
“I appreciate President Zelensky for reaching out because I, as your next President of the United States, will bring peace to the world and end the war that has cost so many lives and destroyed countless innocent families,” Trump said in a post of. social networking platform Truly Social.
“Both sides will be able to meet and negotiate an agreement that will end the violence and open a path to prosperity,” he said. Trump has so far not said how he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine, and there have been concerns that he and his team could pressure Kiev to cede territory.
For his part, Zelensky said in X at the time when he and Trump had agreed “to discuss in a personal meeting what steps can make the peace just and truly lasting.”
