U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in New York on September 25, 2019, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
Likes him or not?
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump continues to stir speculation about his stance on Ukraine — and his opinion of the country's wartime leader, President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In Trump’s interview with XE owner Elon Musk on Monday, the former president raised eyebrows when he said, “Nobody feels worse about the situation in Ukraine than I do,” given his previous hints that he might cut off vital war funding to Ukraine if elected to the White House in November.
The Republican nominee also described Zelensky as “very honorable” in his handling of the phone call that led to Trump's first impeachment in 2019.
During the infamous July 2019 phone call, Trump told newly elected Zelensky — then a political novice — that he would like him to “do us a favor” by helping investigate Trump’s Democratic political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who had business dealings in Ukraine.
The call sparked allegations that Trump improperly sought help from Ukraine to boost his 2020 reelection chances, and Trump was impeached in late 2019 as a result. However, he was acquitted after a two-week Senate trial in early 2020, and has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Zelensky said at the time that there was no blackmail in the call with Trump.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, on July 23, 2019.
Hennadiy Minchenko | Future Publishing | Getty Images
Speaking to Musk during an interview broadcast on social media platform X on Monday, Trump referred to the incident, saying: “Zelensky, he was very honorable with me because when they went with the Russia hoax and said I had a phone call with him, he said it was a perfect phone call, it was a great phone call.”
“He could have bragged and said, 'Oh, that was a big threat.' (But) he said, 'No, it was a very nice phone call,'” Trump added.
Zelensky “the seller”
The praise for Zelensky was a far cry from earlier this year, when Trump called the president “probably the greatest salesman of any politician who ever lived,” suggesting that Ukraine’s requests for — and receipt of — U.S. military aid packages were based on Zelensky’s skill and diplomacy, not Ukraine’s actual needs.
“I think Zelensky is probably the greatest salesman of any politician who ever lived,” Trump said in June, shifting from calling the Green New Deal a “scam” to directly calling Zelensky.
“Every time he comes to our country, he comes out with $60 billion,” the former White House chief said of the Ukrainian president, referring to a massive U.S. aid package that was fought over by Republicans and Democrats and finally agreed to in April.
MSNBC reported at the time that Trump corrected himself by saying he “loves” Zelensky — before returning to his criticism of the Ukrainian leader.
“(Zelensky) left just four days ago with $60 billion, and he came back home and said he needs another $60 billion. It never ends,” Trump said.
Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks at a rally at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University on August 9, 2024 in Bozeman, Montana.
Michael Ciaglo | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Referring to the war in Ukraine, Trump concluded that he would “solve” the crisis during his presidency after the election. “We have to stop it,” he said.
Trump’s ambivalence about the merits of continuing to support Ukraine has become starkly apparent in recent months, especially as polls have suggested he could win another term in the White House.
According to the latest New York Times-Siena College poll conducted in early August, Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris is narrowly ahead of Trump in several swing states, indicating that the election race is wide open.
Another phone call
With Ukraine closely watching the U.S. presidential election, it is forced to walk a fine line between its current Democratic Party backers and the prospect of a Trump presidency that could curtail U.S. financial and military largesse—aid that has largely allowed Kiev to continue fighting Russia since February 2022—or impose new conditions on it.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a coordination meeting on the security situation and protection of the state border, attended by representatives of the military command, the State Border Guard Service and heads of military departments of the Volyn, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Kyiv and Chernigov regions of the Volyn region of Ukraine on July 30, 2024.
Presidency of Ukraine | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Trump, after clinching the Republican nomination in July, said he spoke again with Zelensky and had a “very good” conversation.
“I appreciate President Zelenskyy reaching out to me because, as the next President of the United States, I will bring peace to the world and end a war that has taken so many lives and devastated countless innocent families,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
“The two sides will be able to come together and negotiate an agreement that ends the violence and paves the way for prosperity,” Trump said. Trump has not yet said how he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine, and there have been concerns that he and his team could pressure Kyiv to cede territory.
For his part, Zelensky told Channel X at the time that he and Trump agreed to “discuss steps that can make peace truly just and lasting in a personal meeting.”
