By Mary Jones and Tony Bruce | Friday, September 27, 2024 | 3 min read
On Wednesday, Donald Trump painted a grim picture of Ukraine, referring to its people as “dead” and the nation as “demolished,” intensifying concerns about the extent to which he might concede to Russia if re-elected. Trump’s remarks suggested that Ukraine should have made concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin prior to Russia’s invasion in February 2022, arguing that even “the worst deal would’ve been better than what we have now.”
Known for his criticism of U.S. aid to Ukraine, Trump frequently asserts that Russia wouldn’t have invaded if he were president. He continues to claim that he would swiftly end the war if given another term in the White House.
Trump also reiterated his bleak assessment of Ukraine, following a recent debate where he notably refused to say whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war. On Tuesday, Trump also praised Russia and its Soviet predecessor, stating that war is “what they do.”
Trump’s remarks continue to raise concerns about his potential willingness to make concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin if re-elected, further fueling uncertainty about his stance on the conflict.
During a North Carolina speech, Donald Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who, while attending the U.N. General Assembly in the U.S., criticized Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, and dismissed Trump’s claims about ending the war. Zelensky told The New Yorker that Vance’s proposal for Ukraine to surrender territories was “too radical” and that Trump “doesn’t really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how.”
In response, Trump accused Zelensky of making “little nasty aspersions” toward him, labeling himself “your favorite president” as he addressed the audience. He portrayed Ukraine as devastated outside of Kyiv, claiming it lacked soldiers and was suffering from population loss due to war deaths and emigration. Trump went so far as to question whether Ukraine had any leverage left to negotiate a peace deal, suggesting the country was in a perilous state with few options.
In his speech, Donald Trump argued that any deal, even the worst possible one, would have been preferable to the current state of the Ukraine-Russia war. “If they made a bad deal it would’ve been much better,” Trump remarked. “They would’ve given up a little bit, and everybody would be living. Every building would be built, and every tower would be aging for another 2,000 years.”
He further painted a bleak picture of Ukraine, calling it “demolished,” and claimed that “the people are dead, the country is in rubble.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is engaging with the White House, promoting what he refers to as a “victory plan” for the war. This plan is expected to include a request for long-range Western weapons to target Russian positions, as Ukraine seeks to shift the momentum of the conflict.
While Ukraine defied initial expectations by resisting a swift Russian takeover, its forces now face a prolonged and brutal conflict in the east against one of the world’s most formidable military powers. Despite Ukraine’s resilience, any negotiated deal with Russia would likely be heavily unfavorable, given that Ukraine has already lost a fifth of its territory and suffered tens of thousands of casualties.
Donald Trump placed the blame for the conflict squarely on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponents. He claimed that Biden “egged it all on” by supporting Ukraine’s defense instead of pushing the country to surrender territory to Russia.
“Biden and Kamala allowed this to happen by feeding Zelensky money and munitions like no country has ever seen before,” Trump stated.
Notably, while Trump criticized Biden’s handling of the war, he refrained from condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade. Instead, he offered a tepid critique, saying, “He’s no angel,” without elaborating further on Putin’s actions or justifications for the invasion.
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