As he is wont to do, President Trump held an impromptu press conference at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday and had some hard truths for Ukraine, hinting that it might be time for the Ukrainian people to call for new elections as their country enters year four of the war with Russia.
Fresh off of signing two new executive orders and one memorandum, Trump entertained a wide variety of questions, but the Russia-Ukraine situation was a central theme after Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat down with a Russian delegation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to start mapping out a path to peace.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had made headlines in recent days over his ire at not being invited to participate in the Riyadh negotiations, saying:
“We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us. I think it was a surprise for many people,” Zelensky said at a news conference in Ankara alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “We are absolutely honest and open. I don’t want any coincidences. That’s why I’m not going to Saudi Arabia.”
In response to a question about his confidence level following Tuesday's talks with Russia, Pres. Trump said he was "much more confident" that a solution was in the offing, adding that "Russia wants to do something -- they want to stop the savage barbarianism."
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President Trump didn't hold back when talking about Zelensky and his handling of the conflict:
TRUMP: I'm really disappointed in what's happened. I've been watching this for three years -- it's a war that would have never happened if I was president and I've been watching these people being killed at levels that you've rarely seen. Not even close -- since the Second World War and I'm very disappointed.
As for Ukraine having hurt feelings over not having a seat at the table in Riyadh?
TRUMP: Well, they've had a seat for three years and a long time before that. This could have been settled very easily -- just a half, a half-baked negotiator could have settled this years ago without the loss of much land, very little land. Without the loss of any lives and without the loss of cities that are just laying on their sides. You have those magnificent golden domes that are shattered, will never be replaced.
But, the president wasn't done and suggested that it may be time for the Ukrainian people to demand new elections after suffering for so long under "martial law." When a reporter asked if the United States would support Russia's desire to force a special election as part of a potential peace deal, Pres. Trump made it not-so-subtly known that the idea has merit:
TRUMP: Well, we have a situation where we haven't had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law, essentially martial law in Ukraine, where the leader in Ukraine -- I mean I hate to say it but he's down at 4 percent approval rating -- and where a country has been blown to smithereens.
...
And, yeah, I would say that when they want a seat at the table, wouldn't the people of Ukraine have to say, "It's been a long time since we've had an election?" That's not a Russia thing, that's something coming from me and coming from many other countries.
President Trump essentially issued a no-confidence vote in Volodymyr Zelensky, making it clear why Ukraine was not invited to Saudi Arabia. Trump emphasized repeatedly that this war would not have taken place under his watch, stating the previous American president was "grossly incompetent -- he had no idea what he was doing; he said some very stupid things."
The president did give a glimpse into why he is committed to ending the war that "should have never happened," sharing, "I see pictures of fields that look just horrible. Looks like Gettysburg. If you see the old pictures of Gettysburg, it's soldiers lying all over the field, body parts all over the field, they're all dead -- and this is is going on, on a daily basis. It's a horrible thing."
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