President Donald Trump said when he came into office, he believed the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into a world war, but he now thinks that will not happen.
In an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Trump said about the war in Ukraine, “And if I weren’t president, that could have led to World War III. It won’t. It’s not going to anymore. But when I first got in, I said, “Wow, this situation could lead to World War III.”
He went on to tout the policy of ending direct military assistance to Ukraine and pushing Europe to pay more to supply Kiev with weapons. “Look at the damage that Russia-Ukraine has done to us as a country. I mean, we spent $350 billion.” He added, “We’re not spending any money anymore. Now they pay us through NATO. You know, I got NATO to go from 2 percent to 5 percent. Well, that’s very important.”
While Trump has rolled back military assistance, American arms continued to go to Ukraine. Additionally, the President has escalated the conflict by supplying Kiev with intelligence for long-range drone and missile strikes. Additionally, Trump has ramped up sanctions against Russia.
However, Trump has been unable to deescalate the war in Ukraine. He has held several phone calls and summits with Ukrainian President Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, but has failed to push the two sides closer to a deal.
At times, the President has expressed frustration with both Zelensky and Putin for failing to negotiate an end to the war.
Trump has significant leverage to pressure Zelensky into making a deal. Zelensky maintains hardline positions such as Russia giving back all Ukrainian territory, including Crimea.
In the interview with Collins, Trump also criticized Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Earlier in the day, MTG slammed Trump for meeting with Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the founder of Syria’s al-Qaeda affiliate, in the White House.
“So when somebody like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who’s now catering to the other side—I don’t know what, you know, I guess she’s got some kind of an act going—but I’m surprised at her.” The President continued, “But when somebody like Marjorie goes over and starts making statements like that, it shows she doesn’t know.”
