Former President Donald Trump said in Thursday night’s presidential debate that he could settle the war between Russia and Ukraine before he even takes office.

While Mr. Trump didn’t describe a specific pathway for ending the war, a claim he has repeatedly made since the 2022 Russian invasion, he criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and said his country has taken too much military aid from the United States.

When President Biden asked Mr. Trump whether he wanted to pull the country out of NATO, the former president just shrugged.

But Mr. Trump took credit for recent boosts in military spending by other NATO nations. He said his musings as president that the U.S. might not abide by freeloading members in the face of Russian aggression got the Europeans to meet the alliance’s agreed military-spending targets

Mr. Biden used that opportunity to defend NATO, and touted his work at getting other countries to gather around Ukraine.

“By the way, I got 50 other nations around the world to support Ukraine,” he said.

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.