In a stunning escalation of his attacks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has claimed that the embattled leader helped start his country’s war with Russia. The extraordinary criticism comes as President Joe Biden arrives in Europe for crucial closed-door discussions with allies, with the Ukraine conflict high on the agenda.
Trump’s comments, made on the PBD Podcast with Patrick Bet-David, signal a potentially radical shift in US policy toward Russia if the former president wins the November 5th election. On the campaign trail, Trump has repeatedly slammed Zelenskyy, calling him “the greatest salesman on Earth” for securing billions in US military aid since the war began in 2022.
Trump: Zelenskyy Should Have Prevented War
Going further than his previous critiques, Trump directly blamed Zelenskyy not just for failing to end the war, but for helping to start it. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want to help him because I feel very badly for those people. But he should never have let that war start. The war’s a loser,” the Republican nominee declared.
Trump has suggested Ukraine may need to cede territory to Russia to achieve peace, a concession Kyiv considers unacceptable. His latest remarks indicate he would dramatically reorient US policy in the region if elected.
Biden Meets with European Allies
As the war of words heats up back home, President Biden is in Berlin aiming to bolster cooperation with key European partners on issues from Ukraine to Middle East conflicts. “We’re wheels down in Berlin,” Biden posted on X (formerly Twitter). “Ready to greet old friends and strengthen our close alliance as we stand together for freedom and against tyranny around the world.”
We’re wheels down in Berlin. Ready to greet old friends and strengthen our close alliance as we stand together for freedom and against tyranny around the world.
– President Joe Biden, on X (formerly Twitter)
Germany Honors Biden’s Transatlantic Leadership
In a sign of the strengthened ties, Germany awarded Biden the highest class of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit, its most prestigious honor, for his work improving German-American friendship and the transatlantic alliance. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier noted that even recently, the US-German relationship had grown distant.
Even recently, just a handful of years ago, the distance had grown so wide that we almost lost each other. [Biden] restored Europe’s hope in the trans-Atlantic alliance literally overnight.
– German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Trump, Harris Trade Barbs and Seek Votes
Back in the US, the presidential race is heating up. Trump took swipes at Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats in a pointed speech at the Al Smith charity dinner in New York after she declined to attend in person, instead sending a video. Both candidates are scouring for votes in key battleground states like Michigan ahead of the election.
The accusations against Zelenskyy and the split-screen of Biden working to shore up alliances while Trump lambasts a key US partner encapsulate the stark foreign policy differences between the two as Americans prepare to head to the polls. With Trump signaling a major reversal on Ukraine and Russia, the future direction of the US role on the world stage hangs in the balance.
