Trump says Ukraine’s Zelensky should ‘never have let that war start’

Former president Donald Trump blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for allowing the war in Ukraine to start, even though Russia was the aggressor, during an interview with a podcaster that was published Thursday.

“I think Zelensky is one of the greatest salesmen I’ve ever seen. Every time he comes in we give him $100 billion,” Trump said in the interview with podcaster Patrick Bet-David. “Who else got that kind of money in history? There’s never been. And 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. That war is a loser.”

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Trump met with the Ukrainian president in late September at Trump Tower, their first meeting since 2019. Before the meeting began, Trump, standing next to Zelensky, said that it was an “honor” to meet with him and that they had a “very good relationship.” He then added that he also has a “very good relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump has reportedly maintained a personal relationship with Putin since leaving the White House, and this week said, “Russia has never had a president that they respect so much.”

Trump has repeatedly suggested that Russia would never have invaded Ukraine if he were still president. The podcast interview that aired Thursday is not the first time Trump has appeared to suggest Zelensky is at fault for the ongoing war. During a campaign event in Mint Hill, N.C., for example, Trump said, “We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal.”