President Donald Trump lashed out against suggestions he supports Russian President Vladimir Putin in Truth Social posts Sunday night and Monday morning, slamming Democrats and his former national security advisor after they suggested his recent argument with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated pro-Russia views.
US President Donald Trump (L) chats with Russian President Vladimir Putin as they attend the APEC ... [+]
Trump’s sparring match with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office Friday has sparked widespread criticism that his actions backed Russia, with Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., telling CNN Sunday the Trump administration is “becoming an arm of the Kremlin” and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, saying the White House “appears to be … embracing Putin.”
Trump responded to that criticism in Truth Social posts, saying Monday he is “the only president who gave none of Ukraine’s land to Putin’s Russia” and adding, “Remember that when the weak and ineffective Democrat’s criticize, and the Fake News gladly puts out anything they say!”
The president was likely referring to how Crimea, formerly part of Ukraine, was annexed by Russia in 2014 under President Barack Obama, and Ukraine has lost 11% of its land since the war with Russia began during President Joe Biden’s administration.
He claimed Sunday night the U.S. should “spend less time worrying about Putin, and more time” worrying about an influx of undocumented immigrants.
The president also responded to comments his former National Security Advisor HR McMaster made on “60 Minutes” Sunday about Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy, telling the news program that “Putin couldn't be happier” about how Trump’s Oval Office meeting went, “because what he sees is all of the pressure on Zelenskyy, all of the pressure on Ukraine and no pressure on him.”
McMaster “IS A WEAK AND TOTALLY INEFFECTIVE LOSER!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Sunday night following his former advisor’s comments.
Trump is being “played” by Putin, McMaster told “60 Minutes,” saying Putin “appeals to President Trump’s sense of aggrievement, right? That, you know, ‘Donald, you know, like me, you know, you've been treated so unfairly.’” The Russian president has “been very successful at it because he's a master manipulator and one of the best liars in the world,” McMaster, whom Trump fired in 2018, added.
Russia gave indications that it’s happy with how Trump is handling the war in Ukraine even before the Friday Oval Office meeting, as Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media Wednesday the Trump administration’s “foreign policy configurations” now “largely [align]
46%. That’s the share of U.S. adults who believe Trump favors Russia in its war against Ukraine, according to a CBS News/YouGov poll that was conducted last week but largely before the Oval Office argument. Only 11% of respondents believed Trump sides with Ukraine in the conflict, while 43%—including a majority of Republicans—believe he’s treating both sides equally.
Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy on Friday—slated to be a straightforward meeting ahead of signing a planned minerals deal—devolved into an argument before the press, after Zelenskyy noted to Trump and Vice President JD Vance that Putin has refused to follow ceasefire agreements in the past. Vance responded by accusing Zelenskyy of being “disrespectful” and “try[ing] to litigate this in front of the American media,” leading to an argument between the leaders. Trump told Zelenskyy Ukraine was “not really in a good position right now” and accused the Ukrainian president of “gambling with World War III.” “You’re either gonna make a deal or we are out, and if we’re out, you’ll fight it out,” Trump told Zelenskyy about Ukraine’s negotiations with Russia. The argument caused the planned minerals deal to fall apart and threw a wrench into the U.S.’ negotiations with Ukraine and Russia on ending the war, with Trump saying after the meeting he “determined that [Zelenskyy] is not ready for peace if America is involved because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations.”
The accusations from Democrats about Trump acting in line with Putin comes as the president has long raised scrutiny over his ties to Russia. Special Counsel Robert Mueller conducted an investigation during Trump’s first term into whether his 2016 campaign colluded with Moscow. That probe did not “establish” there was any illegal collaboration, but concluded “the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome,” while the Trump campaign “expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts.” Trump has also praised Putin as a “genius” who was “pretty savvy” in his invasion of Ukraine, and reports before the election suggested Trump spoke with the Russian leader seven times while he was out of office. The Trump administration has been trying to reach a negotiation to end the war in Ukraine after Trump previously claimed he could end the conflict in “24 hours,” and Trump spoke to Putin in what he described as a “lengthy and highly productive” phone call in February. The Trump administration has also said it’s speaking with Russia about other matters like restoring embassy offices, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously said his office is in discussions about exploring closer relations with Moscow.