Donald Trump vowed to get the U.S. “out” of Ukraine if he wins the presidency in November during a rally in Savannah, Georgia, on Tuesday.
Discussing the Russia-Ukraine war, the former president criticized Joe Biden’s leadership during the conflict and said that he would end American participation. The U.S. has provided significant aid and weapons packages to Ukraine, but it has at no stage been directly involved in the war or had personnel on the ground.
Trump said: “But we’re stuck in that war unless I’m president. I’ll get it done, I’ll get it negotiated, I’ll get out. We gotta get out.”
He introduced the topic by claiming “Biden and Kamala got us into this war in Ukraine and now they can’t get us out.” He also said that “every time Zelensky comes to the United States he walks away with $100 billion, I swear he’s the greatest salesman on Earth.”
Donald Trump at a rally in Savannah, Georgia, on September 24. He spoke about “getting out” of Ukraine if he is re-elected.
John Bazemore/Associated Press
He reiterated his claims that the U.S. has been involved with the war for too long and needs to move on.
Trump also appeared to imply that Russia would not lose the war, as he alluded to how Napoleon failed to invade Russia in the early 19th century and spoke of Moscow’s victories in helping to defeat Hitler during World War II.
The Republican presidential candidate also claimed that the U.S. had given Ukraine close to $300 billion and that Europe has given them “a small fraction of that number.”
Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign for comment via email outside of normal working hours.
Trump has also said he could “end the war within a day,” a claim that was dismissed by military experts, as well as his former vice president, Mike Pence.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, as of May this year, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the U.S. has passed five aid bills and provided a total of $175 billion to Ukraine.
The U.S. aid to Ukraine has funded humanitarian support, as well as weapons and military equipment, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Trump’s plans for the Ukraine-Russia war have sparked concern, as his officials said that he would create a two-tier NATO system to exclude Ukraine from the alliance, and overall shift the U.S. position on Ukraine if he is re-elected.
Newsweek has also reached out to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment via email.
The Kyiv Independent alleged that the “pro-Trump wing of the Republican party” blocked an aid bill for Ukraine from going through Congress for months and later led to the loss of a Ukrainian city in the Donetsk Oblast to the Russians.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting the U.S. this week to pitch his “Victory Plan” and attend the opening of the UN General Assembly.
While Zelensky is scheduled to meet with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, an official from Trump’s campaign said he is not scheduled to meet with the former president.
This claim directly contradicts a statement made by Ukrainian officials last week, which asserted that Zelensky had planned to meet with Trump.
In a recent interview with the New Yorker, Zelensky spoke of a previous phone call with the former president about Ukraine and said that he had expressed support for their cause.
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